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MEMOIR 



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S. S. PRENTISS. 



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sf\l PRENTISS. 




EDITED BY HIS BROTHER,. 



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VOL. I 




:^EW YOKK: 
CHARLES SCRIBXER, 145 NASSAU STREET. 

MDCCCLV. 



,T0 f^o ! 



E^-TXRBD according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by 

CHARLES SCRIBNER, 

Id the Clerk 't Office of the U. S. District Court, for the Southern District of New York. 



W. H. TINSON, BTEEEOTYrSR. 
QBOROE nUSSELL, PRINTER. 






\ 



^\, 



<^ PREFACE. 



^' ^ 

^ The first plan of tliis Memoir contemplated no 

larger audienoe than the little circle of Mr. Pren- 
tiss' own. family and kindred. It was hoped that 
the sharpness of their grief, caused by his death, 
might be soothed by a few simple memorials of his 
life. But the materials were soon found to be ample 

. for a biography ; and, encoui-aged by many friendly 

voices, I resolved to attempt it. The task has proved 
far more serious than was anticipated. But it has 
been a most grateful labor; and were the result 
<iuite worthy of the theme, I should be well satisfied. 
The fact that the work has been written in odd 
moments, stolen fi-om an exacting profession, may 
serve to explain, and perhaps to palliate, some of 
its imperfections. 

In arranging the materials, my aim has been, as 
much as possible, to shape them into an autobio- 
graphy. This has led to the insertion of the speeches 



VI PREFACE. 



into the body of the narrative. It has also led 
to what, I fear, may be regarded, as an exces- 
sive use of the domestic correspondence. If any 
one should think that some of the letters, whe- 
ther on the score of taste or value, might better 
have been omitted, I beg him to consider this point ; 
and, also, how hard it is in such a choice, not to be 
Jj^ased by mere personal feeling. During the first 
ten years of Mr. Prentiss' residence in the South 
West, this correspondence is ahuost the only record 
of him that remains. As it is, not a few of his 
most beautiful and characteristic letters are left 
out. 

It is proper to say, that in describing liis election- 
eering campaigns in 1837-8, as also his speech at 
Portland in 1840, and that at 'Natchez in 1844, 
several distinct accounts — oral, written and printed — • 
have been condensed into one. This seemed better 
than to publish three or four separate notices of the 
same address. 

My best thanks are due, and are hereby most 
heartily tendered, to all who, in any way, have aided 
me in my fraternal task. ]^othing could exceed the 
kindness with which my brother's old friends, in the 
North and South, have answered my inquiries, and 
given me the benefit of their reminiscences. To my 
brother-in-law, the Kev. Jonathan F. Stearns, D.D., 



PREFACE. Vll 



I am under special obligations. Without his con- 
stant encourasjement it is doubtful if the work 
would ever have been completed; that its imper- 
fections are not far more numerous, is chiefly owing 
to his critical taste. 

Should these impretending volumes .render the 
name of S. S. Prentiss dearer to his old friends, or 
make it honored amongst those who never knew him, 
I shall be rewarded a hundredfold for all the pains 
they have cost me. 

New Yorl; Aug. 2, 1855. 



CONTEiXTS OF VOL. I. 



CUAPTER I. 

His Parentage, Birth and Childhood — Removal of the Family to Goiham — His 
Grandfather Lewis— Devotion to his MoUier, and early Taste for Reading. 13 

CHAPTER 11. 

The District School-li&use — His Fondness for Gunning and Fishing— It is decided 
that he shall go to College — Preparaiory Studies at Qorham Academy — Rev. 
Reuben Nason — Anecdotes of his boyish Wit and Oratory — Enters Bowdoin 
College — Reminiscences of him at this Period — Graduates, and commences the 
Study of Law — Judge Pierce's Recollections of him — Letters from his Friend 
Appleton, .......... 23 

CHAPTER in. 

Emigration of Educated Young Men from New England — Maine Twenty-five Years 
ago — He determines to go West — His setting out — His Letters Home, describing 
his Journey to Cincinnati, and thence to Natchez — Notice of his Uncle, Rev. 
James Lewis — Obtains a Situation as Teacher, . . . . .49 

CHAPTER IV. 

Letters Home while teaching in the Family of Mrs. Shields — Notice of George W. 
Pierce — Letters from his Class-mate, Appleton — Takes Charge of an Academy — 
Trip into Louisiana — Anecdotes of him by one of his pupils — Is Licensed, and 
commences the Practice of Law in Partnership with Gen. Huston — His Appear- 
ance at this Time — Anecdote of his first Speech at the Bar — Trip to Columbia 
Springs — His Views of Slaverj', . • . . . . . .69 

CHAPTER V. 

Essay on Toasting — Removes to Vicksburg — Mr. Chilton's Reminiscences of Him — 
Letters Home— Visits Washington City— Advice to a College Student— Forms a 
Partnership with Mr. Guion — Letters, ...... 109 

1* 



X CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 

CHAPTER TI. 

The Southwest a Quarter of a Century ago — Hostile Meeting with Gen. Foote — 
Frequency of Duels in Mississippi at that time — Lord Bacon's Opinion of this 
"Desperate E/il," its Causes and Cure — Letters Home — Rapid Increase of 
Business — Recollections of him when riding the Circuit — A Night's Imprison- 
ment — Eulogy on Lafayette, ....... 129 

CHAPTER VII. 

Letters — Voyage to New York — His First Visit Home — Letters — Serious Accident — 
Is elected a Member of the Legislature — Entrance into Political Life — Anecdote 
of a Backwoods Speech — Session of the Legislature — Letters Home — Visit to 
Kentucky — His Trips up and down the Mississippi — Scenery and Scenes on 
the River— Vicksiburg in 1S36-7, . . . . . . . 157 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Adjourned Session of the Legislature — Mr. Prentiss's Speech on the Question of 
admitting the Delegates from the New Counties — Protest against their Admis- 
sion — Resigns his Seat, ........ 1S7 

CHAPTER IX. 

Recollections of him in the Winter of 1S36-7 — Letters — Gains the great Commons 
Suit — Second Visit Home — Fourth of July Speech at Portland — Becomes a Candi- 
date for Congress — His Views on the Question of a National Bank — Mississippi in 
1S37 — Opens the Canvass with a Speech at Natchez — Electioneei'ing Campaign — 
His Letters describing it, . . . . . . . . 213 

CHAPTER X. 

Arrives in Washington — The Lower House of Congress in 1S38 — Mississippi Con- 
tested Election-^Iis first Speech on claiming his Seat — The Admiration it excited 
— Mr. Webster's and Mr. Fillmore's Opinions of it — Mr, Legare's Reply to it — His 
second Speech — What followed — The final Result — Is rejected — An Error corrected 
touching a Reihark of Mr. Claj- — Public Dinner on the Eve of his Return to Missis- 
sippi and a Union Speech of Mr. Webster — Letters, .... 244 

CHAPTER XL 
Speech on the Mississippi Contested Election, ..... 265 

CHAPTER xn. 

Address to the People of Mississippi — Return to Vicksburg— Second Canvass of 
the State — Reminiscences of it— Speech at Natchez — Anecdotes illustrating the 
Effect of his Eloquence — His own Account of Scenes with a Menagerie — Result of 
the Election — Address to a Jury — Letters— Return to Washington — Claims his 



CONTENTS OF VOL. I. XI 

Seat under the November Certificate of Election — Characteristic Incident men- 
tioned by Mr. Word — Speech on the Sub-Treasury Bill — Letters — Speech on 
Small Note Bill— North and South, . . . . . .317 



CHAPTER XTII. 

Visits Portland — Attends the Public Dinner given to Daniel Webster in Fancuil 
Hall — Letter from Edward Everett — His Speech on the Occasion — Trip to the 
White Mountains — Invitation to a Public Dinner in New York — The Correspon- 
dence — Reminiscence by Judge Wilkinson — Returns to Mississippi by Sea — 
Reception at New Orleans — Extract from a Speech at Vicksburg on Disunion — 
Letters, .......... 3C5 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



■^•>- 



CHAPTER I. 

His Parentage, Birth and Childhood — Removal of the Family to Gorham — His 
Grandfather Lewis — Devotion to his Mother, and early Taste for Reading. 

^T. 1-10. 1808-1818. 

The subject of the following memoir was descended 
from one of the oldest New England stocks. His paternal 
ancestor, Henry Prentice, came over from England and 
settled as a " Planter," in Cambridge, Mass., some time 
before 1640. He was a member of the first Church in 
Cambridge, formed in 1636, and cf which Pev. Thomas 
Hooker, who soon removed to Hartford, Conn., was the first 
pastor. His eldest daughter, Mary, married Deacon 
Nathaniel Hancock, great grandfather of John Hancock, 
the illustrious President of the Continental Congress. K'ot 
a few of the most respectable families in Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, trace back their 
origin to Henry Prentice, of Cambridge. 

Rev. Joshua Prentice, minister of Hollistou, Mass., and 
great-grandson of Henry, altered the spelling of the name 
to Prentiss, in order, probably, to distinguish it from other 



14 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

branches of the same family ; an alteration, which seems to 
have been generally adopted by the descendants of Henry, 
of Cambridf2;e.* 

Samuel Prentiss, the grandfather of Seargent, was gra- 
duated at Harvard University in 17 tl, and after the birth 
of his eldest son William, removed to Gorham, Me., where 
he resided until his death. 



Seargext Smith Prentiss was born at Portland, Maine, 
September 30, 1808. His father, William Prentiss, a 
highly respected and prosperous shipmaster, was a man of 
much energy and decision of character, of quick intelligence, 
and strong domestic affections. His return from sea was 
always the signal for great family rejoicing ; a season, too, 
redolent of oranges, pine-apples, and other products of 
foreign climes, sweet to the taste, or pleasant to the eye. 

Few things contribute so much to give variety and anima- 
tion to the household-life of a New England seaport as the 



*I am indebted for these facts to The History and Genealogy of the Prentice 
or Prentiss Family in iVejo England, from 1631 to 1S52, published in Boston, 
1S52, by C. J. F. Binney. The work contains much curious and valuable infoi-ma- 
tion about the family, but is not free fi'om inaccuiacies ; e. g. in stating that 
the Editor of this Memoir was " a Representative to the Massachusetts Legislature, 
1848, from New Bedford." Mr. Binney says the name is an old one in England. 
In Rhymer's Foedera, vol. iii., page 730, mention is made of Thomas Prentlz, Anno 
Domini 1318, An. 12, Ed. 2. Also, John Prentys, Rector of Winterborn, Bradston, 
-Aug. 22, 1413, and Prebendary of York, North Newbold. The first of the name in 
America was, probably, Valentine Prentice, who came over with Elliot, the Apostle 
to the Indians, in 1631, and settled in Roxbury, Mass. "He lived a godly life, and 
went through much aflBiction by bodily infirmity, and died leaving a good safr 
(savor) of godliness behind him." Deacon Henry Prentice, grandfather of Samuel, 
"owned the Fresh Pond property in Cambridge. A valuable document, written 
and signed by him, instituting the first prayer meeting, is in possession of Rev. 
Mr, Albro, of the Shepherd Congregational Church. He was a tall and very grave- 
looking man, sat in the Deacons' seat in church, directly in front of the minister, 
and in cold weather he put on a green woollen cap with a tassel on the top, to 
keep his head warm, it being bald on top." 



ORIGIN OF HIS LAilEXESS. 15 

constant coming and going of husbands, fathers, sons, and 
brothers, on their more or less distant voyages. The home 
of a sea-captain is marked by peculiar excitement and glad- 
ness during his visits, followed by unusual fears, anxiety, 
and loneliness while he is away. How differently affected 
are his wife and children by the wintry blasts, by tidings of 
shipwrecks and storms at sea, by reports of pirates and 
naval captures, from those of the landsman. And when, 
after long and perilous voyages, he comes back in safety, 
wnth what eagerness do the children listen to his story. 
How they talk it over among themselves, and feast their 
young imaginations upon its wonders. 

Capt. Prentiss had not a few hair-breadth escapes to 
relate. He had encountered storms and hurricanes, had 
been repeatedly shipwrecked, chased by pirates, and boarded 
by a British man-of-war. Many of these things happened 
while Seargent was a boy, and all were among the familiar 
traditions of the fireside, repeated a hundred times by his 
mother during the long winter evenings. It was in these 
early days, no doubt, his memory became stored with those 
wild, ocean images which, in later years, he wrought into 
forms of such exceeding beauty and grandeur. 

While yet an infant, he was seized with a violent fever, 
which reduced him to the verge of death, deprived him for 
several years of the use of his limbs, and was the cause of 
the defect in one of them, from which he never recovered. 
For his partial recovery he was indebted to the unwearied 
care and devotion of his mother. Every day she w^as accus- 
tomed to spend an hour or two in rubbing and bathing his 
torpid limbs ; this she continued to do, as far as her own 
infirm health would allow, year after year, until one by one 
they became strong enough to perform their appropriate 
functions : the right leg alone refused to be entirely healed, 
remaining lame and feeble to the last. With this exception. 



16 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

his physical development was perfect; that of an ancient 
wrestler could hardly have been more so. 

Those who knew him in after years, will, perhaps, recol- 
lect his horror of cold water bathing. It had its origin in 
infancy. After trying in vain all other appliances, his 
mother was advised to dip him every morning in cold 
water drawn directly from the well ; and this she did, 
except in winter, for several years. It proved effectual in 
hastening his restoration ; but he could never after hear 
of a cold bath without shuddering. 

He did not forget the patient love that rescued him from 
the misfortune of growing up a helpless cripple. The filial 
piety, which will form a chief attraction of these pages, had 
in it a depth of tenderness and gratitude of which that love 
is the best and only solution. 

Seargent's parents were members of the congregation 
over which Rev. Edward Payson, then in the first glow and 
outburst of that apostolic zeal which, at length, consumed 
him, had been recently ordained minister. They were 
among the earliest of a great company who were indebted 
to his pious labors for their Christian hope ; he was 
endeared to them, therefore, not merely as a beloved teacher 
and friend, but as the father of their religious life. The 
impression made upon Seargent by this devoted man, was 
strong and abiding. Aside from the veneration he cherished 
for him as the one by whom he had been baptized, and who 
was regarded by his parents with an affection scarcely "this 
side idolatry," he felt, doubtless, the electric touch of that 
genius for which Dr. Payson was no less eminent than for his 
seraphic piety. One fond of tracing the subtle influences 
which shape and give tone to the development of the indi- 
vidual mind, could easily believe that in this close contact of 
the embryo orator with the ardent and eloquent divine, lay 
the secret cause of not a little that he afterwards became. 



REMOVAL OF THE FAJillLY TO GORHAM. 17 

He ever retained au affectionate respect for the memory and 
virtues of his early pastor, and often spoke of his peculiar 
talent for original, happy illustration, in terms of congenial 
admiration and delight.* 

He retained, too, through life an almost boyish attach- 
ment to his native town. Casco Bay, upon which it hes, he 
once called, in poetic phrase, " the fairest dimple on 
ocean's cheek." It is studded with pretty islands, some say 
one for each day in the year. Xo stranger who visits 
Portland in the summer, or early autumn, can fail to 
admire the charming variety and beauty of its scenery. The 
sea-views, sweeping down the coast, or opening out upon 
the broad Atlantic, are singularly fine ; while the land- 
scapes, bounded far away in the distance by a magnificent 
prospect of the White Mountains, are not less attractive. 

During the war with Great Britain, Captain Prentiss 
removed to Gorham, a town distant some eight or nine miles 
from Portland. Like many others,* he was driven into the 
country by the ruin which had fallen upon commerce. 
Portland was one of the leading shipping-ports in the 
Union ; the amount of its tonnage being less than that of 
only three or four others. The prostration of business 
caused by Mr. Jefi'ersou's embargo policy, and then by 
actual hostilities with our great transatlantic customer, was 
complete. It is remembered to this day with terror by old 
merchants and shipmasters, some of whom, during forty 
years, have not been able to recover from its blighting 
reverses. So long as the lessons of the war of 1812 are 
kept in memory, the commercial temper of the country is 
not likely to be belligerent. 



* In a letter written in 1843, he alludes to Dr. Payson as " our old family pastor, 
one of the most, if not the most, eloquent of the American diyines, whose name is 
reverenced by all good men." 



18 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

This removal to Gorbam was fraught with the most import- 
ant results, being one of those domestic changes which, appa- 
rently trifling at the time, in the end prove to have been 
turning-points in the destiny both of parents and children. It 
gave form and coloring to Seargent's whole subsequent life. 

Gorham was a pleasant farming town, especially distin- 
guished for religious and educational advantages. Its 
original settlers, a hardy, intelligent and pious race, were 
sprung of the genuine Pilgrim stock. Some of them still 
survived, full of anecdotes of the Revolutionary times, and 
of their early conflicts and adventures with the wild beasts 
and Indians, who, long after their coming, continued to haunt 
the forests of Gorham.* 

In this town lived Seargent's maternal grandfather, 
Major George Lewis. Like most of the early settlers of 
Gorham, he was a native of Cape Cod, whence he had emi- 
grated after the close of the Revolutionary War. His farm 
was situated at a little distance from Clement's Corner, on 
the old county road to Standish, at the point where it turns 
off towards Buxton. The house, erected by him in the 
wilderness, three-quarters of a century ago, is yet standing, 
but untenanted, and ready to vanish away. 

Major Lewis was a man of great weight and force of 
character, of excellent understanding, and noted for the 
earnestness of his religious and political convictions. One 
might have gone far before finding a truer specimen of tho 
Puritan deacon, or of the old-fashioned Washingtonian 
Federalist. Before emigrating to Maine, he had been out 
in the Revolutionary war, served as an officer in the battle 
of Bunker-Hill, and was deeply imbued with the patriotic 



* For an interesting account of the settlement and early history of Gorham, 
with sketches of its leading men, see Judge Pierce's Centennial Diacourse^ 
Portland, 18S5. 



HIS GRANDFATHER LEWIS. 19 

spirit of the times. An aged aunt, recently deceased, 
used to depict, with much vivacity, the scene of her 
father's setting out to join the Provincial array. All 
hands were busy in preparing for his departure ; but it was 
a task of mingled fear and hope. The dread shadow of 
approaching war and revolution was resting upon every 
household in New England ; and many a wife's, mother's, 
daughter's or sister's heart already presaged the agony that 
was to come ! Neither mother nor daughter, on that night, 
gave slumber to her eyelids ; long before daybreak the 
retreating footsteps died upon the ear, and the house was 
left solitary and desolate. How different was the scene, 
when her father and his fellow-townsmen returned home 
with the laurels of Bunker Hill still fresh upon their brows. 
Among Major Lewis's intimate friends were his cousin, 
Hon. George Thacher,* of Biddeford ; General Peleg 
Wadsworth ; Judge Longfellow, of Gorham ; and the 
late Hon. Prentiss Mellen, Chief- Justice of Maine. When 
visited by these friends, the state of the country was an 
invariable subject of discourse ; and they would often sit 
up till after midnight, absorbed in warm political discussions. 
Major Lewis, as has been intimated, was a strong Fede- 
ralist, of the school of Washington ; and, like many others 
of that school, " hated^^ Mr. Jefferson " with j)crfect hatred." 
To his boyish intercourse with his grandfather is to be 

* Mr. Thacher died in 1824. He represented the District of Maine in Congress 
for several years, and was then appointed an Associate Judge of the Supreme 
Court of Massachusetts. He continued on the Bench almost to the day of his 
death. He was a man of superior ability, gifted with the keenest wit, and endeared 
to all who knew hira by his fine social qualities. While in Congress, he was chal- 
lenged to fight a duel. His reply has passed into a proverb. It was to this effect, 
—that in matters of such gravity he always consulted his wife, then at home in 
Maine, and he should feel especially bound to do so in the present instance. In 
the meanwhile, if the other party would chalk out a man of just his size, and 
shooting at it according to the rules of the duello, should hit it, he (Judge T.) would 
cheerfully admit that, had ho stood in the place of the chalk-man, the ball would 
have bit Mm too. 



20 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

attributed much of the political spirit which marked Sear- 
gent's mature years. Hardly a pleasant day passed, during 
the latter part of the venerable man's life, in which he 
failed to pay his daughter a visit. Seargent was a par- 
ticular favorite with him, and, unconsciously, perhaps, was 
thus early imbibing principles and a habit of feeling in 
reference to public affairs, which underwent no essential 
change to the day of his death. 

In this connection the name of his uncle, Hon. Lothrop 
Lewis, should not be omitted — a name still cherished by all 
who knew him with peculiar respect. For many years he 
was entrusted by his fellow-citizens with numerous important 
offices, and, but for his untimely decease, bid fair to reach 
the highest honors in the State. A man of eminent worth, 
mildness, and dignity of character — a model of public virtue 
— he was admirably fitted to inspire the young with just 
and honorable sentiments. Seargent was much in his family, 
and conceived for him the greatest regard and veneration. 

Capt. Prentiss' farm was about half a mile from Major 
Lewis's, on the road to Standish. The old homestead, built 
on a gentle elevation, has a very pleasant outlook, while 
from a neighboring hill the eye rests on a landscape, or 
rather series of landscapes, of more than ordinary attraction. 

OAving to his lameness, which precluded walking for 
several years after the removal to Gorham, Seargent passed 
the greater portion of his boyhood iu-doors, and under the 
immediate eye of his mother. He was emphatically the son 
of her right hand. The sufferings of his infancy, long oscil- 
lating between life and death,* and his still crippled state, 

* While his father was absent at sea, a sweet little sister, whose memory is still 
cherished in the family, died ; but, by some mistake, the report reached his father 
that it was Seargent. He immediately wrote to the mother, congratulating her 
that it had pleased Providence to spare Caroline, and to take away the poor 
cripple, whose prospect for life seemed so hopeless. How little do we know when 
we are most blessed ! 



DEVOTION TO HIS MOTHER. 21 

would of themselves have especially endeared him to her — ■ 
for what touches the maternal heart like a sick, unfortunate 
child ? — but he was endeared to her yet more by his 
extreme beauty, sprightliness of mind, and affectionate 
disposition. Everybody was struck with his noble fore- 
head, line eye, and frank, open countenance ; a countenance 
beaming, even in its dawn, with that intellectual fire which, 
in later years, was wont to shine with such lightning 
brightness. Everybody, too, noted his mental forwardness, 
and predicted that he would one day be heard of in the 
world. The tradition of him and his witty sayings is still 
fresh among the old neighbors and his playmates at school. 
But more than by his beauty, or his wit, was the little 
cripple endeared to his mother by his sweet disposition. 
From the first, he was a tender-hearted, generous, loving 
boy ; singularly free from that selfish petulance^ and ill- 
nature which too often cast a shadow over the face of 
childhood ; and all these fine qualities crystallized, as it 
were, into devotion to his mother. Never was he so happy 
as when sitting by her side or nestling in her bosom. 
When, according to the good old Christian custom, she on 
Sabbath evening retired with the younger children to pray 
with and for them, he always insisted upon kneeling beside 
the same chair with his mother. What began in weakness 
and suffering, grew into a habit, a necessity, and 

"A joy for ever." 

His in-door life afforded excellent opportunity for reading. 
There were few Puritan families of ]S"ew England in which 
one might not meet, in whole or in part, the writings of 
John Newton, Baxter's Saint's Rest, Bunyan's Holy War 
and Pugrm's Progress, Edwards On the Affections, Milton's 
Paradise Lost, Young's Night Thoughts, and similar works. 
The list would have now to be greatly enlarged. In many 



22 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

a plain, rural household, may be found a select library of the 
best poets, historians, essayists, and divines of England and 
America. The sons and daughters of the intelligent Kew 
England farmers are early initiated into the noblest litera- 
ture of their mother tongue. Before reaching his tenth 
year, Seargent was master of every book upon which he 
could lay his hand. The Bible, in particular, he read and 
re-read, until his acquaintance with its contents was aston- 
ishing. He would repeat large portions from memory. 
When no one else could " find the text" on Sabbath evenino-, 
he was seldom appealed to in vain. Next to the Bible, his 
greatest favorite was the Pilgrwh Progress. Over this 
matchless allegory he pored with unceasing delight ; he 
knew by heart every step which Christian travelled from 
the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. The 
copy used by him was full of pictures, of the Palace Beau- 
tiful, Vanity Eair, the Cave of Pope and Pagan, Giant 
Despair, Doubting Castle, and the Delectable Mountains ; 
and so deeply were the scenes, thus graphically depicted by 
pen and pencil, engraven upon his fancy, that in after years 
Pilgrim's Progress, like the Bible, was to him a never- 
failing treasury of felicitous allusion and illustration. 

Thus passed av/ay the first ten years of his life ; the 
season of budding to the intellect and the affections. Ts^o 
feature of his mature character was wanting in that of his 
boyhood. Those who knew him, from the cradle to the 
grave, recognized the same higb-souled, genial, and afi'ec- 
tionate being at ten and at forty. 

" The Child -was Father of the man." 



THE DISTRICT SCHOOL HOUSE. 



23 



CHAPTER II. 

The District School-house-His fondness for Gunning and Fishing-It is decided 
that he shall go to College— Preparatory Studies at Gorham Academy— Rev. 
Reuben Nason-Anecdotes of his boyish Wit and Oratory-Enters Bowdoin 
College-Reminiscences of him at this period-Graduates, and commences the 
Study of Law— Judge Pierce's Recollections of him— Letters from his Friend 
Appleton. 

iET.-ll— 18. 1S18— 1827. 

At a little distance from Captain Prentiss's farm stood, 
and still stands, the district school-house. It was thus 
described by his son, more than a quarter of a century 
later : — 

Behold yonder simple bnilding near the crossing of the village 

roads ! It is of small and rude construction, but stands in a 

pleasant and quiet spot. A magnificent old elm spreads its 

broad arms above, and seems to lean towards it, as a strong man 

bends to shelter and protect a child. A brook runs through the 

meadow near, and, hard by, there is an orchard ; but the trees 

have suffered much, and bear no fruit except upon the most 

remote and inaccessible branches. Prom within its wtdls comes 

a busy hum, such as you may hear in a disturbed bee-hive. 

isow peep through yonder window, and you will see a hundred 

children, with rosy cheeks, mischievous eyes, and demure faces, 

all engaged, or pretending to be engaged, in their- little lessons. 

It is the pubUc school— the free, the common school,— provided 

by law ; open to all ; claimed from the community as a right, 

not accepted as a bounty. Here the children of the rich and 

poor, high and low, meet upon perfect equality, and commence 

under the same auspices the race of life. Here the sustenance 



24 MEIIOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

of the mind is served up to all alike, as Spartans served their 
food upon the public table. Here young Ambition climbs its 
little ladder, and boyish Genius plumes his half-fledged wings. 
From among these laughing children will go forth the men who 
are to control their age and country ; the statesman, whose 
wisdom is to guide the senate ; the poet, who Avill take captive 
the hearts of the people, and bind them together with immortal 
song ; the philosopher, who, boldly seizing upon the elements 
themselves, will compel them to his wishes, and, through new- 
combinations of their primal laws, by some great discovery, 
revolutionize both art and science.* 

Until his eighth or ninth year Seargent continued so 
lame that he could only walk by means of crutches ; a 
little carriage was, therefore, provided, and for several 
winters his elder brother was in the habit of drawing him to 
and from school. At length, he was able to move freely by 
the help of a single cane. No sooner was this the case than 
he conceived the greatest passion for roaming abroad in the 
fields and woods, — but especially for gunning and fishing. 
The principal game, which he went in quest of, were 
partridge, wild duck, grey squirrel, and wild pigeon. In 
the time of harvest, immense flocks of the latter w^ould fly 
over the country, and thousands of them alight in the neigh- 
boring woods. It was the custom of his brother and himself, 
as soon as the wheat-fields were reaped, to raise two dead 
trees, and prepare beneath them a long bed of earth, 
covered with grain and tinctured with certain fragrant oils, 
which the pigeons were supposed to scent from afar. Hard 
by, a booth was built, in which they could conceal them- 
selves and await the coming of their prey. When a goodly 
number had alighted on the bed, a net was sprung upon them. 
Seargent's excitement was always irrepressible ; the instant 



* Address before the Ne^v England Society of New Orleans. 



THE GREAT BROOK, 25 

the string was pulled, lie could be seen, — there are some, 
who, in the mind's eye, see him even now — leaping from the 
booth, and hurrying at the top of his speed to survey the 
haul. Sometimes, instead of a net, the old farm gun was 
resorted to, and, although it had a habit of " kicking " 
badly, having dislocated his brother's shoulder, and repeat- 
edly knocked him to the ground, he would never be per- 
suaded to give up using it — even his attachment to his 
mother was here at fault 

But his greatest delight was in angling. Old Izaak 
Walton could hardly have excelled him in devotion to this 
" treacherous art," or in the skill with which he pursued it. 
There were two trout streams in the vicinity, whose names 
will recall many a happy day to some readers of this 
memoir, the Branch, and the Great Brook ; the latter, — 
including Jordan's Brook, — was Seargent's favorite resort. 
He/ pronounced it **the most classic stream in Xorth 
America." It took its rise in a forest, called the Haith, 
and, after winding through fields, woods, and pasture lands, 
for several miles, emptied itself into a neighbouring river. 
It was, indeed, a notable stream ; abounding in trout 
of unequalled flavor, and whose quick, dashing bite was 
the admiration of all true anglers. There were certain 
holes, often at unsightly points, and quite hidden from the 
eyes of tne uninitiated, which rarely failed to furnish a 
kingly victim. How well remembered are these favored 
spots 1 There was something alm<3st mysterious about 
them ; they were never approached but on tiptoe, stealthily, 
and with eye half-averted ; or, if concealed amid the tangled 
brushwood, one must creep towards them on all fours ; and 
then with what an anxious glance and careful hand was the 
fatal lure let down into the water. There was hardly a 
foot of the Great Brook which Seargent had not traversed 
again and again ; not a nook or bend with which he was 

2 



26 MEMOIR OF S. 3. PRENTISS, 

not familiar. When talking of it once, in Mississippi, he 
maintained that, even in the night, he could find his way 
direct to the old holes, and, kneeling down, put his hand 
upon the identical hooks which had been caught and lost in 
them twenty years before. Many and many a long sum- 
mer's day did he spend in wandering slowly up and down 
the Great Brook ; and never, in after life, was the subject 
mentioned without reviving some of the pleasantest memo- 
ries of his youth. 

Captain Prentiss brought up his sons to working on the 
farm ; but, in consequence of his infirmity, Seargent was, in 
great measure, exempt. There were a few things, however, 
which he was able and accustomed to do ; such as, riding 
the horse to plough and harrow, dropping seed in planting- 
time, husking corn, weeding and bunching onions. He 
loved none of these employments, — but of the last he had a 
cordial detestation. The only relief he found in it was to 
get through his stint in season to go a-gunning, or 
fishing. He was utterly insensible to the dignity of 
labor. 

His parents now cast about to see what should be done 
with him, his lameness and his character alike warning 
them that he would never be a farmer. Conscious of his 
remarkable qualities, they felt a strong wish to give him a 
liberal education. But the family had become large, its 
expenses heavy, and the farm swallowed up well-nigh all 
the profits of the ocean. Capt. Prentiss had undertaken, 
like manv before and since, to combine two thinQ:s essen- 
tially incompatible — to cultivate at the same time the sea 
and the dry land. He thus gained for his children, health, 
plain habits, and the many other blessings incident to a 
country life ; but be lost money. The question, however, 
after remaining for a year or two in debate, was at length 
decided in Seargent's favor. But, in any case, he had 



REV. REUSEN NASON. 2t 

resolved upon goiug to college, often declaring to his 
mother, that, if there were no other way, he would learn 3 
shoemaker's trade, and work at the last, until the means, 
were acquired of accomplishing his purpose. 

His preparatory studies were pursued at Gorham Aca- 
demy, distant some two and a half miles from the farm. In 
the winter he boarded at the village, but the rest of the 
year at-home, one of his brothers usually conveying him on 
horseback, and going to meet him on his return in the 
evening. How vividly does the writer recall those sum- 
mer rides. It seems but yesterday, as it were, that he 
took them ; and he can almost fancy his arms still clinging 
for support around that form of youthful genius, as they 
were wont to do thirty years ago. Every step, each turn 
and aspect of the road, every successive landscape ; the 
pleasant glimpses of Portland, in going ; the beautiful 
mountain-prospect, in returning ; all are engraven upon his 
memory as " with the point of a diamond."' 

Gorham Academy was one of the foremost institutions 
of the kind in Maine. It was, at this time, under the 
charge of the Rev. Reuben Xason — a ripe scholar, an 
excellent preceptor, and a truly good man. Hundreds of 
his pupils, scattered all over the Republic, still live to 
ckerish and revere his memory. There was much about 
him to remind one of the old English head-master, of whom 
we read in books. He had. a similar predilection for clas- 
sical learning, the same pride and delight in a promising 
boy, a like intolerance of blockheads, and, occasionally, the 
same impatience and sharpness of temper. He has been 
known (kaud ignota loquor) to flog a delinquent with the 
Bible, when no profaner weapon was at hand. He usually 
prayed with one eye, at least, wide open, on the look-out 
for transgressors ; and often was "Amen" followed instanter 



28 MEMOIR OP S. S. PRENTISS. 

by the imperative '' Come up, sir !" and the quick report of 
birch, or ferule. But, for all that, he was a man of j^enuiue 
kindness, and always had an encouraging, friendly word for 
those who were worthy of it. No one enjoyed more, or 
had a keener appreciation, of a good joke, or a well-told 
story. Many are the traditions of the readiness and dry 
humor with which he would meet the pranks, sometimes 
played off upon him. On entering the Academy, one 
summer morning, he found the school all assembled, and his 
desk pre-occupied by a notorious donkey. Xaught disturbed, 
he at once exclaimed, with a sarcastic laugh, — "Well, 
young gentlemen, I compliment you upon your taste. You 
have made an admirable selection. Set a donkey to teach 
donkeys !" The animal was never caught there again. 

While pursuing his academic studies, young Prentiss 
greatly enlarged his acquaintance with books. There was 
a respectable collection attached to the Institution, and 
several private libraries in the village, to which he had 
access. It was, probably, during this period that he became 
acquainted with the Arabian Nights Entertainments, Don 
Quixote, and other w^orks of a similar description, for which 
he had a passionate fondness. He read with extraordinary 
rapidity, and whatever he read — whether history, bio- 
graphy, poetry, or romance — was ineffaceably impressed 
upon his memory. Among other works which fell in his 
way at this time was Lempriere's Classical Dictionary. 
Many years afterwards, he spoke of the perfect delight with 
which, in the leisure school-hours, he read and re-read this 
book. He almost knew the whole of it by heart. Lem- 
priere, he used to say, was an invincible weapon for giving 
interest and effect to a stump speech ; when all other illus- 
trations were powerless, he never knew the shirt of 
Nessus, the Labors of Hercules, or the forge of Yulcan, to 
fail. 



HIS BOYISH WIT. 29 

He was noted at the academy for the same personal and 
intellectual qualities which distinguished him -in after life, 
^necdotes, illustrative of his wit and biting sarcasm, as 
also of his physical daring, are still rife among his old scool- 
fellows. 

On one occasion some dozen boys were called up and 
punished by the assistant, for a certain trick, w^hose author 
could not be detected. The next morning a sharp reproof 
in doggerel rhyme was posted about the village, of which a 
friend recalls the following : — 

" Mr. Blank, I must confess 
You have well proved your foolishness 
By whipping us poor fellows so, 
To find out what we didn't know. 
No doubt you very oft have read 
What God to Abraham once said, 
That for the righteousness often 
He'd save two cities, full of men. 
But you the contra wise have done 
And flogged a dozen to punish one !" 

A lady, now resident in one of the Middle States, 
WTites : — 

It was a rule at the Academy that each student should once 
a week declaim a piece selected for the occasion. Seargent, 
then but twelve or thirteen years old, had been for some time 
behindhand. Mr. ]Srason at length told him that he would take 
no excuse ; the declamation must be made on the spot. WJiere- 
upon the little fellow started out upon the rostrum, and deliv- 
ered a most ludicrous original poem, full of wit and humor, 
apologizing for his previous remissness. Mr. JSTason who, as you 
know, was a very nervous man, was so convulsed with laughter 
that he was obliged to hide his face in his handkerchief, until the 
fun was over. But he first looked round the school-room to see 
that everybody else was participating in his delight. How well 
I recall the whole scene. 

I recollect an incident which occurred about this time, illus- 



30 MEMOIP. OF 



PREMISS. 



trative of bis bold, impulsive nature. He was at our bouse 
during one of. those terrible nortbeast snow-storms, wbich none 
but a New-Englander can appreciate. Towards i;s close be 
remarked to my mother, that upon a certain condition be would 
jump from the top of the bouse (it was a pretty high one), into a 
snow-bank towering in fronti of the window near which she sat 
sewing. "Do so by all means!" she replied jestingly, at the 
same time promising to partially comply witb the condition; 
but she did not for an instant suppose him in earnest, and con- 
tinued her sewing. Presently, bowever, be disappeared from 
the room ; in a few minutes the window was suddenly darkened, 
and tbere lay Seargent buried in tbe huge snow-bank! My 
mother rushed out almost beside berself with fright, but be was 
uninjured. 

On another occasion tbere was an immense spring fresbet, 
,wbicb swept away most of tbe bridges in tbe town. A 
large crowd bad collected near one of tbem to witness tbe 
catastrophe, Seargent among tbe rest. Already tbe body 
of tbe bridge was gone, leaving, bowever, a fragment, wbich 
projected far over the raging flood. Lost in tbe excitement 
of tbe scene, be crawled out and perched himself upon this 
extreme verge. There be sat for some time, perfectly heed- 
less of bis peril and of tbe remonstrances of tbe crowd. He 
bad scarcely abandoned tbe spot, when tbe whole fell in 
witb a crash, and in a moment was seen dashing furiously 
down tbe current. 

For tbe following reminiscences of bira during this period, 
tbe reader is indebted to bis fellow townsman and classmate 
in college, Wm. T. Hilliard, Esq., of Bangor, Me. 

The perusal of your letter tore asunder the veil that years 
bad woven, ond my childhood and youth, witb all their varied 
associations, and the dear and cherished companions of the way, 
were once more spread out before me. In that young and 
joyous company I still see my early, and always, fViend, 



HIS CHARACTER AT THE ACADEMY. 31 

6, S. Prentiss. Our intercourse commenced at Gorham Academy, 
under the tuition of th^e venerable Mr. Nason. At tliis period, 
no one could be with your brother, for any length of time, with- 
out remarking a peculiar maturity of intellect. Once interest 
him, and, boy as he was, easy and inditferent too, as he fre- 
quently seemed, he would surprise you with his promptness and 
brilliancy, and perhaps make you angry by his sallies of caustic 
wit. He loved sport, and engaged with zest in all our amuse- 
ment?; but, even when at play, his mind seemed at work, so to 
express it, on its own account. I do not mean to say that he 
was absent-minded ; but his mind was thinking, active, philoso- 
phical. He had, at this early period, an inexhaustible fund of 
anecdote, and a most happy mode of telling a story, being 
peculiarly effective in his embellishments. He was, at times, 
terribly sarcastic ; but he would cut and heal at one and the 
same moment. A better, more feeling, and generous heart 
never beat. Miscellaneous reading was his delight : he devoured 
history, fiction, biography, &c., with perfect avidity. I never 
knew one so young, who would read so rapidly, retain so 
thoroughly, or so readily reproduce, when occasion called. The 
language he never reproduced, — it was the pith and sentiment 
which he had made his own property. A boy in his feelings 
and habits, and a modest boy too, he could, in the company of 
men, as if by magic, become a man in all save stature and years. 
When no one was present but myself, or perhaps one or two 
other intimate friends, he would often suddenly start up, and 
with some flourish, and as if addressing a jury, or an audience, 
repeat passages from speeches and poems, not infrequently 
extemporizing withal.* He had a wonderful command of his 
mother-tongue, and always used the most apt and appropriate 
words to express the ideas he intended to convey. In reading 



* On visiting, not long since, an o'd Goihara neighbor, he remarked, 'Til wiige 
that I heard tlie first stump speech Sekrgent ever made. It was over yonder, 
in your grandfather Lewis's old orchard. It was at an apple-gathering ; there 
was quite a company of us, men and boys, your father among the rest. Of 
a sudden, Seargent mounted a stump, previous to the shaking of a tree, and 
said he would address us. AVe were all attention, of course, to hear what 
the little fellow had to offer. lie began thus,— ' My friends, you must, in the 



32 MEJIOIR OF S. S. PREXTI3S. 

the dead languages, which he did with inueli fluency, he never 
troubled liimself about a hteral translation, but would read off 
a sentence in the original, and then clothe it in an ample, grace- 
ful, yet correct English drapery, seeming all the while, as if by 
intuition, to seize the intent and meaning of his author. There- 
was about him, withal, an atmosphere of easy and brilliant 
joyousness — I speak now generally, because I never knew, and 
probably there never was, a mind moulded like his but had its 
dark and bitter hours, full of gloom and despondency. This was 
sometimes the case with him ; but his strong common sense, 
and indomitable will, soon dispersed the clouds. There was 
another trait of his character^ as a boy, which I may have hinted 
at before — I mean his coolness and self-possession. One could 
scarcely find him unprepared for a reply, prompt and to the* 
purpose. 

In the autumn of 1824, at the age of fifteen, he entered 
Bowdoin College, then under the presidency of the Rev. 
Wm. Allen, D.D. From motives of economy, he joined the 
junior class, having gone through the studies of the first 
and second years at the Academy ; a wretched practice^ 
which nothing but stern necessity can ever justify. He 
always regretted it, as also that he went to College so 
young. 

' Professor Packard has kindly furnished tlie following 
interestiuG: reminiscence : — 



o 



I remember, witli perfect distinctness, the examination of 
your brother for the junior standing. He was very youthful in 
Ills appearance, and feeling much sympathy with him on account 



first place, set your faces like a flint towai'ds the l>uit of the tree.' He then 
went on, as fast as Lis tongue could move, for half an hour, or more, in a 
speech which astonished us; I never heard a boy talk as he did that after- 
noon, before or since. Your father was perfectly delighted." His son, who 
was one of the boys at the apple-gathering, gave the same account of the 
speech. 



IS EXAMINED TO ENTER COLLEGE. 33 



e 



of Lis physical ir.fii-mitj, as also on account of his youth and the 
severe examination required for one to enter two years in 
advance, I was disposed to be very gentle witli him in my 
opening, lest he miglit become embarrassed. But I found, at 
the outset, that he did not need any forbearance at the hands 
of liis examiners. "V^'ith entire composure, and almost as if in a 
playful mood, with remarkable readiness, clearness, precision, 
and fullness, he passed the trial in languages, and in mathe- 
matics ; for in the condition of the College, at that time, it fell 
to my lot to have a liand in both branches. The testimony of 
all the examiners to the high promise shown by that examina- 
tion, was full, and I cannot recall an instance of an examination, 
which, considering the extent of it — embracing a dozen separate 
authors and subjects — has, during the many years of my concern 
in such scenes, been so successful and triumphant. That scene 
is so indelibly fixed on my memory, that, were I a painter, I 
could give a drawing of the fixtures, and the persons, at the 
time in tlie apparatus-room of the Medical College. Your 
brother's collegiate course was a brilliant one, and I often said, 
that it was one of the few instances, in College life, of decided 
indications of future success and eminence. He exhibited 
talents, Avhich Ave used to think would ensure him ail he might 
aspire after, in a Western or Southern career. His remarkable 
facility in debate, and his wit and humor, were manifested in 
College scenes. 

His letters home, written while in College, give few- 
details respecting his studies ; but they are replete with 
expressions of filial love, and also of the eager restlessness 
with which he was already looking forward to the battle of 
life. In the winter of 1825-6 both these feelino-s were 
greatly increased by the death of his father ; an event 
which made an indelible impression upon the whole house- 
hold, and excited in Seargent a sentiment of filial and fra- 
ternal responsibility, which waxed in strength and tender- 
ness to the day of his own death. 

2* 



34 MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTIvSS. 

In reference to his college course, Mr. Hilliard remarks, 
in the communication already cited : — 

Although the College Government had a high estimate of his 
abilities, liis clas.-mates. — who knew him intimately, and who 
gener.-illy are the most competent judges, — assigned him a much 
higher place than his tutors. He felt no anxiety about his 
standing in his class, and made no extraordinary exertion in any 
particular branch of study. He excelled in metaphysical investi- 
gations. I well remember when w^e were reading Butler^s 
Analogy^ which to most students is no play, lie seemed to give 
it about as much time as an ordinary mind would spend on a 
book of travels or a novel ; but he made both the matter and the 
mode of reasoning completely his own. The fact is, everything 
he did was, or at least appeared to be, free from unnatural or 
violent effort. He never thrust himself forward, but when sum- 
moned, and the necessity was upon him, like a young Samson, 
he felt his strength, and tailed not to make others feel it. As to 
his oratorical powers, which the event showed he possessed in 
such perfection, college is a poor place for their development. 
I can now remember two or three instances, perhaps more, in 
the presence of some six or eight of his classmates, when he 
gave indications of a fine embryo debater. 

Another classmate* writes : — 

My recollections of your brother, while at college, are still 
very distinct, and of the most agreeable kind. His youthful 
face, with its briglit, sparkling expression; his irresistible 
humor ; the manly spirit which he ever exhibited ; and his 
physical energy, even with the lameness under which he 
labored; are, at this distant day, vividly before me. 

I believe I can truly say, that nearly all the shining qualities, 
both of mind and heart, which distinguished his brilliant career, 
were exhibited at tliis early period of life. 



* Jolm T. Gilaian, M.D., Portland. 



THE SPOUTEROI CLUB. 35 

Still another writes : — 

The presence of your beloved brother is still vivid: the 
characteristic energy of his mien, his familiar manners, conver- 
sational enthusiasm, uniforni flow of spirits, Avonderfal fluency 
of speech, exuberant fancy of diction, sparkling wit, sarcastic 
retort, as well as humorous repartee, are stereotyped in the 
memory ; but the wear and tear of life has obliterated nearly all 
particular incidents and details. The only little spot yet green 
in our classic Olympiad is your brother's connection with a 
small club of kindred spirits. It was formed iii our junior year, 
and consisted of six classmates, never more, never less: we were 
brother Peucinians, and that was an additional bond of union. 
Our first object was, improvement in extemporaneous speaking ; 
we wanted something more frequent, and more familiar, too, 
than the opportunities presented by the college societies. We 
had no constitution, no oflicers, no by-laws ! We met regularly 
in each otlier's rooms; the occupant was the l^residing officer of 
the evening: he assigned a subject for present discussion, and 
literary exercises for the subsequent meeting. 

The only law that w^e had was, that every member, nolens 
tolevs, should take part in the debate. As the topic was not 
made known till the moment for discussion, there was, of course, 
no opportunity for preparation. In this respect our forensic 
exercise was strictly ex tempore, and not like many, now so 
called, conned by midnight lamp and delivered memoriter. The^ 
stimulus, in the absence of fines and penalties, was a cigar, which 
the officer, ex loco, was expected'to provide. 

The names of those who composed our little coterie, were as 
follows: Wilham Appleton, the brother of Mrs. President 
Pierce, early cut off by death from a life of promise,*— Leonard 



* William Appleton was «iy brother's "chum" during his last year in college, 
and cue of his most intimate and beloved friends. He accompanied him home to 
spend the vacation preceding Commencement, and charmed the whole household 
as well as neighboring families, by his gentlemanly bearing and quiet, scholar-like 
tastes. His name, for many years, was closely associated with that of my brother. 



MEMOIR OF t?. S. PRENTISS. 

Apthorp, of Boston, one of the best scholars and writers of the 
class of 1826; his contributions to the Boston Galaxy (now 
Courier) were well known; especially his Miseries of a Country 
Schoolmaster^ — Isaac McLellan, of Boston, the poet, — William 
Paine, Esq., present Marshal of Maine, — and your brother, who 
with the writer, made the complement. For want of a name 
sufficiently significant of the forensic and social character of this 
little band, we had to manufacture. None but a classic one 
would do, therefore, a Greek termination was added to a Saxon 
root, and I.-novrepoc (Spouteroi) was adopted. 

We had other' exercises in our weekly meetings; I well recol- 
lect a burlesque composition your brother introduced on one 
occasion, descriptive of the explosion of a torpedo. The usual 
monotony of college life had been disturbed by an incident of 
this kind, to the great excitement of the Faculty, and the per- 
sonal danger of some officers and students. The circumstances 
of time and place were detailed with much minuteness, — the 
state of the college halls, — the hour, that noon of night when 
thought mounts her zenith with the stars! — the relative position 
of the heavenly luminaries, — the ominous forebodings of the 
celestial signs were portrayed in a grandiloquent style, — the 
very elements were described as hushed in consternation ; the 
heavens were hung in black in anticipation of the denoument of 
the tragedy ; the stars, as if conscious of the i)lot, watched the 
progress of the fearful catastrophe, and ever and anon were 



with whom he kept up an affectionate correspondence until his lamented death, 
which occurred, I think, at Cincinnati in 1830, at the age of twenty-two. 

His father, the Rev. Jesse Appleton, D.D., second President of Bowdoin College, 
was one of the most profound religious thinkers of his day. His ethical and 
theological writings exhibit more of the peculiar spirit and method of Bishop 
Butler than, perhaps, those of any other American divine. 

The lady, whose letter has already been quoted, writes : — 

" I never knew a face, at the age of seventeen, that expressed such intellectual 
power and beauty as Seargent's. It was the perfect mirror of a bright, glowing 
and versatile mind. No one could see it without reading in every feature the 
signs of genius. I recollect his being at our village church with his friend, young 
Appleton, when a lady, sitting beside me, called my attention to them, and observed 
that, she had never seen two such remarkably intellectual-looking young men ; 
' Surely,' said she, ' they are destined to play some striking part on the stage of 
life.'" 



JUDGE PIERCE S 



'S REMINISCENCES. 37 



seen, here and there, peeping out from behind the clouds to 
witness the consuramation and be 'in at the death!' 

In his connection with this Club, your brothers fine intellec- 
tual and social quahties appeared in all their force and beauty * 

Immediately upon leaving college, he commenced the 
study of Law, in the office of Hon. Josiah Pierce, of Gor- 
ham, now Judge of Probate ; a gentleman, whose many 
noble qualities of head and heart won from him a strong and 
lasting regard. 

Judge Pierce has furnished the following reminiscences : 

When I first linew your gifted brother, he was a young boy, 
attending the Academy in Gorham. I had no particular 
acquaintance with him at that time ; I used occasionally to visit 
the school, and was struck with his appearance, and manner of 
reciting his lessons ; he was sprightly, and evinced that his per- 
ceptive faculties were unusually quick and discriminating. I had 
known and highly esteemed his parents ; and, therefore, felt an 
interest in their son. For a short period, previous to his enter- 
ing college, Seargent and myself boarded in the same family. 
I then found him sportive, mirthful, ready and sharp at retorts, 
fidl of good humor and kind feehngs, possessing an exuberant 
imagination, and vivid perception of the ludicrous. His irony 
was polished and keen, but never malevolent. 

While an undergraduate of Bowdoin College, I had few oppor- 
tunities of seeing him, or of knowing much about his acquire- 
ments. He graduated on the first Wednesday of September, 
1826, at the age of seventeen, and on the 20th of the same 
month, entered my office as a student of Law. He also boarded 
in my family. Mrs. P. and myself soon became much attached 
to him, and that attachment never, afterwards, suflfered any 
diminution. Though several years my junior, we hved as equals, 
and felt as brothers. He speedily proved himself a dehghtful 
companion, possessed of warmth and purity of feelings, and 
deeply sympathizing in the weal and woes of others. As an 



* Charles Lord, Esq., of Portland. 



38 MEMOIPw OF S. S. PKENTIS3. 

instance of tlio latter, I would state, that soon after Seargent 
became a member of our family, Mrs. Pierce had a sister die in 
our village. I was absent from town during her sickness. Your 
brother then showed himself to be a friend to the afflicted. He 
did all that the nearest relative could have done on the sad occa- 
sion ; he participated in our sorrows, and his at?ention and ser- 
vices to Mrs. P. and the mourning family of her sister, were 
unremitting, and were performed in the most kind and delicate 
manner. Those services and that sympathy we ever held, and 
still hold, in grateful remembrance. 

While he resided with me, his habits were unexceptionable. 
He usually passed his evenings at the house, and mingled with 
zest in all our little family parties and social gatherings ; he 
would read aloud, and was fond of playing chess, also draughts, 
or checkers. 

While hving with us, he occasionally went a gunning — but 
more frequently a fishing to our rivers and small streams. He 
was a frequent and successful trout-catcher, and sometimes 
boasted of being a true disciple of old Izaak Walton. There was 
one brook, that contained many fronts ; it had been one of the 
favorite haunts of his boyhood. To that stream he often 
resorted. 

Your brother had quite a taste for natural beauties, and 
delighted on fine afternoons in autumn to ramble in the wood- 
lands, or climb high hills, and in vivid language express the 
pleasure he derived from viewing the beautiful rolling country, 
and the rich and highly colored foliage of our October forests. 
He interested himself in plants and flowers, and we have yet. 
flourishing in our garden in Gorhajn, a wild rose bush that bears 
deep green, polished leaves, which lie took from the forest, and 
planted near our windows Avith his own hand. It is a beautiful 
memorial, with which Ave should be very unAvilliug to part. 

He was fond of poetry, and while with us, wrote several 
stories in rhyme; he made, too, quite a collection of old ballads 
and uncouth verses, written by unlearned men on occasions of 
fires, shipwrecks and other accidents. In my office, he read 
law studiously in the former part of the day, but in the after- 
noon perused other works. The writings of Walter Scott, Wash- 



LETTERS FROM HIS FRIEND APPLETOX. 39 

ington Irving, Cooper, and Byron, afforded him much amuse- 
ment and pleasant instruction. His favorite author was Sliak- 
spere, and I think a week never passed without his perusing 
more or less of the productions of the great dramatist. He read 
with wonderful rapidity, and seemed to gather, by intuition, the 
prominent facts and incidents of every book he loi)ked through. 
He jiassed over a book so quickly, and at the same time so 
understaiidingly, that a fellow pupil once observed: '"''Prentiss 
reads two pages at the same time^ one with his right eye, and the 
other with his left.''' 

He quickly made himself master of the common office busi- 
ness ; and I soon perceived that he posse>sed the qualifications 
required for eminence as an advocate. His memory was aston- 
ishingly tenacious, his imagination warm and prolific; he 
reasoned with great accuracy and logical force, while his power 
of illustration seemed exhaustless. He was generous and high- 
minded, despising all meanness, and loved to satirize folly, and 
ridicule affectation. 

When he left Maine for the West, he hoped to better his for- 
tunes, and acquire fame in his profession ; at that time, I think, he 
had little ambitiim for political life. To him it was painful to 
leave his home for a distant land, and yet there was in it some- 
thing romantic, which suited his disposition. He had confidence 
in his own success, and thought, that in a few years, he should 
return to New England with a competency of property, and a 
well-established reputation as a lawyer. 

His part of the correspondence with his classmate Apple- 
ton, is missing. But the following extracts from his friend's 
letters to him, while he was in the office of Judge Pierce, 
will, in some degree, supply its place. 

WILLIAM APPLET ON TO S.S. PRENTISS. 

Amherst, N. H., February 23, 1827. 

My Dear Chum: 

I am very much obliged to you for your last 
letter, but was a good deal amused at the morahzing tone which 
was preserved through the whole of it, as I had always con- 



40 M/^.MOIR OF S. S. PEENTISS. 

sidered yon, of all my acquaintance, the one most calculated to 
enjoy life. Pardon me for saying that I think it rather foolish 
for a person whose prospects for the future are as bright as 
yours (and I really think that you have a better right to enter- 
tain high expectations than almost any of your classmates), to 
rail at tlie world and permit a few scurvy blue-devils to take 
away the comfort of your existence. The world is good enough 
for any of its inhabitants; at any rate we have no reason to 
expect an Exjmrgata edition of it, compared and revised, and as 
we cannot hope that it will change its organization to adapt 
itself to our wishes, we had better try to make the necessary 
change in ourselves, that we may fall in with it. You talk a 
good deal about the complying easiness of my disposition. I 
consider it as one of the greatest misfortunes of my life, that I 
have gone to extremes in that respect. I have never scolded 
about the world much, because I unfortunately have always 
found, on the slightest examination, that much the greatest num- 
ber of my troubles I am to thank myself for, and I have not 
possessed^energy and perseverance enough to remove the causes. 
But our cases are materially different. I have a right to be low- 
spirited if I will. But you have no possible reason for being so ; 
leaving college and enterip.g on the study of a profession, as you 
did, with a high reputation both for talents and scholarship, and 
with a fluency of speech which is almost enough in itself to 
ensure one success at the bar. 

The Court of Common Pleas has been sitting in this town 
for the last week, but has been enlivened by no interesting trial. 
The bar of this count}- contains no very brilliant orators, and 
there is scarcely ever a plea worth hearing even in the Superior 
Court, except those of the Attorney-General (Mr. Sullivan). I 
am still engaged in wallowing in the deep mire of old Coke's 
Commentary, and shall, I assure you, be really rejoiced when I 
finish it. There is unquestionably a good deal of valuable law 
knowledge contained in it, but it requires the patience of Job to 
extricate it from the quaint garb in which it is arrayed. You 
have before this, I suppose, read through half the elementary 
works ; but I find that I am obliged to read very slowly to effect 



A REFORMATION". 41 

anything, and after all find myself most lamentably ignorant of 
i\'hat I have been reading. 

I have some expectation of a visit from T next week. I 

had a letter from him a short time since, and was surprised at the 
common-sense manner in ■which it was written. He says that 
he has discarded Lord Byron and phrenology " in toto," and 
gives Tom Paine to the devil, who, he doubts not, has long ere 
this boiled him down to the consistency of calves'-foot jelly. 
He says that he "has determined to be a minister, and shall begin 
the study on leaving college.'' He mentions hearing from you 
not long before he wrote. He has been teaching school. I am 
in daily expectation of a letter from McLellan, although he is 
very little to be calculated upon, from his carelessness about 
writing. He still unites the professions of law and poetry. As 
the stage has just arrived, I beg j^ou will excuse me one moment 
Avhile I run to the post office to see if any letters have arrived. 
IFive minutes after.'] — Xot a line nor a syllable from any of my 
friends, not even a newspaper to console me in some measure 
for the disappointment ; so I will proceed with my letter. 

I had a letter from Hilliard the next day after I received 
yours, although the dates of the letters differed more than a 
week. The delay of yours was owing to your not directing it 
" via Boston," as did Hilliard. I wish that you would do so in 
future, as I want to get your letters as soon as possible. Hil- 
liard mentioned that he expected a visit from Farrar. Remem- 
ber me very particularly to him if you see him. Your description 
of our jovial times while in college, thrilled through my very 
heart-strings. As our friend Ossian very well observes, "the 
memory of joys that are past are pleasant and mournful to the 
soul." ' 

I wish I knew the line which rhymes to 

"Yes, they were happy days but they are fled," 

and I would give you as pretty a little quotation ofi'-hand as you 
have seen for some time. I have grown most extravagantly 
sentimental lately, to qualify myself to talk to our girls, whose 
conversation is divided between sentiment and scandal ; so you 
must not laugh if I do sometimes quote poetry just by way of 



42 MEMOIR OF S. S. rPvENTISS. 

keeping iny Land in. The topics of conversation among the 
Gorham belles are not, I hope, so limited. Tell Hilliard that I 
shall answer his letter very soon. My respects to your family 
and all my other friends. 

Ever yours affectionately, 

Wm. Appletox. 

Write as soon as you can possibly with convenience. Eemem- 
ber me to Capt. E.'s cigar-box. 



FEOM THE SAME TO THE SAME. 

LoxDONDKRET, N. H., May 6, 1827. 

Well, Chum. 

I will again endeavor to hammer out my small 
ideas to cover three pages of letter paper. I received your 
epistle, by due course of mail, with the pleasure that I always 
feel in hearing from you. Since writing to you I have cut 
Blackstone and the law, and am now a sober, plodding peda- 
gogue. My stipend is, of course, increased with the time that I 
spend in instruction. Thirty dollars per month for teaching 
scholars what I never knew myself; next lerm I shall have 
thirty-five dollars. I had some thoughts of accepting an offer of 
a school in Baltimore, which w^ould bring me in something like 
six or seven hundred dollars a-year, but concluded that my ago, 
and other reasons, would make my present situation preferable. 
In case I had accepted, I should have been obliged to take 
the superintendence of a large and, for aught I know, a turbu- 
lent school. 

*' I am very sorry that 3'ou are so much disposed to submit to 
the dominion of the blue-devils, and I know of no reason for 
your giving up yourself to their tyranny. With regard to your 
scheme of a Western expedition, I kncnv of no reason why it 
should not succeed, if 3'ou feel disposed to settle so far from your 
friends. That consideration would, I should think, have consi- 
derable^weight with you — it certainly would with me. I hope 
you have given up all idea of going off, however. Talents and 
perseverance will succeed anywhere ; and Maine, if "we may 



OLD COLLEGE FRIENDS. 43 

judge by the numbers of professional men that eraigi-ate there, 
presents a fair field for exertion. If I should ever be admitted 
to the bar. I thiniv I shall nail up ray shingle in some back town, 
•where there ai-e good mill privileges, and trust to Providence 
for an influx of chents and business. I shall pursue my present 
occupation at least tAvo A'ears, I think, as I have no dtsire to 
become a lawyer until I have arrived at tbe legal age of discre- 
tion. 

"I suppose Hilliard is still at Warren; I am expecting a letter 
from him every day. Do you know whether Lord has returned 
home? I directed a letter for liirn to New York some time 
since, which was, however, I fear, too late. I had a letter from 

T a short time since, in which he inquires after you. He will 

return to Brunswick next term, to take his degree. He tells me 

very sobei-ly that he is engaged to " an excellent girl in X ."' 

I shall write liim a letter of congratulation on the event and, also, 
on the common-sense style that characterizes his letter. This 
excellent girl, whose name I don't know, will, I hope, sober him 
down into an everv-dav sort of man. If some strange and fool- 
ish traits in his character Avere smoothed down a little, he has 
talents enough to enable him to make quite a figure in the 
world. 

John Cleveland is keeping school within twenty miles of me, 
at Andover. 

Time creeps with me very much, about these days. I have 
no acquaintances to visit, and no books to read out of school 
hours. If it Avere not for Sir "Walter Raleigh's discovery, I 
should have a most miserable time; but I find tobacco-smoke an 
infallible specific against blue-devils, as well as the mosquitoes. 
I wish, chum, you could contrive some means of visiting here. 

The preceptor whom 1 assist, is a very pleasant and sociable 
man. His family is about the onl}' one that I visit. This is 
very dull for me — to whom existence, without intercourse of 
friends to enliven it, was always a burden. Study occupies some 
of my leisure time; but you know, by experience, how hard it 
is to bend one's mind down to study after spending six hours in 
that confuser of ideas, a public school. I am obliged to study 



44 MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTISS. 

some, however, as there are several scholars in Greek, and I 
never possessed a tolerable knowledge of the language, and lon<> 
ago forgot what little I ever knew. My Latin, I find, holds by 
me better; so that I can about always explain a hard sentence 
to an inquiring scholar. There are two or three scholars in Geo- 
metry and IS'ar. Phil.; and, that I might not show my ignorance, 
I rattled off so about angles, and sides, and the attraction of gra- 
vitation, and Sir Isaac ISTewton and the apple, and solids, and 
fluids, and convergent and divergent rays, that, I verily believe, 
the fellows thought me a sort of prodigy; when, in truth, if a 
person who knew anything about the matter, had been present, 
he would have laughed in my face. I, as well as the scholars, 
am impatiently expecting the vacation, which commences in a 
day or two, and lasts three weeks. So your next letter, if 
written within two or three weeks, must be^ directed to 
Amherst. 

I shall send you a catalogue of this academy— not that I have 
the slightest idea that you care anything about it, but in order 
to dispose of one, out of twenty which the boys have handed to 
me. You will light some cigars with it, and when you use the 
third page for that purpose, let tender recollections come 
athwart your mind of your absent friend. 

I will however, bore you no longer. Eemember me to all my 
friends in your quarter. My respects to .your mother and 
family. 

Your affectionate Quondam, 

Appletox. 



FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. 

LoxDoxDERRT, Juue 26, 1S2T. 

Dear Chum : — •*■ 

While I was writing those two words the con- 
founded bell of the academy tolled a death-note to the hopes I 
had of writing to you by this morning's mail ; but I will try if 
I can prepare a letter in readiness for the next. I continue to 



PROPHECY OF THE HUXDKKD TilOCSAND POLLAR CASE. 45 

doze oil ill my nsiml torpid state — a state which a campaign in 
school-keeping will produce in any one ; I am now so accustomed 
to it that it does not make me, as at first, positively miserable, 
and, I am sure, it can never make me more than negatively 

happy. 

I doubt not that you will succeed well in the Western States ; 
indeed, I think the chance of success so much greater there than 
in ISTew England, that, if it were not for one or two reasons, I 
should almost be tempted to accompany you. 

I heard from our friend T yesterday. He has entered col- 
lege again, and appears to be as much as ever dissatisfied with 
things about him. He said he should write you soon ; confirms 
what he formerly wrote me about his engagement : and says he 
shall commence the study of divinity immediately upon leaving 
college, with one of the Episcopalian bishops ! I am sorry to 
hear, by a letter from Lord, that his former complaints have, of 
late, somewhat disturbed him; he says, if tliey increase, he shall, 
probably, cross the Atlantic. What a grand thing this money is, 
chum! as you will experience when you gain your hundred- 
thousand-dollar case, purely by the force of your eloquence, 
with neither law nor reason on your side. You still, I suppose, 
find your cigar a never-failing refuge in your troubles. I don't 
know how I should be able to support existence without some 
such comforter— not that it gives me any positive pleasure to 
smoke, but it deadens the acuteness of my feelings whenever 
anything happens to trouble me. 

You have, by this time, become quite a proficient in legal lore, 
I imagine. I lefD the study before I had gone any further than 
the rudiments, and the very little that I learned I have for- 
gotten. I shall not recommence the study if I can continue in 
my present situation, or obtain another as eligible, for a year at 
least ; at the end of that time I hope to be more able to pene- 
trate its mysteries. 

A very large proportion of oar class are studying law-, I 
should think. I shall have an opportunity of seeing their 

success before I attempt the practice. Bob S is in Andover 

Institution ! He must make a most dig-nified appearance among 



46 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

the black-bearded, long-whiskered students of divinity, whose 
age averages at least twenty-five years. Cleaveland is studying 
law in Andover; and Jonas we pedagogues rank in our frater- 
nity. I know not how it is, but I feel a great interest in all my 
class-mates, thoi'gh there were but two or three that, while in 
college, I ever cared a copper about, or who, I have reason to 
think, held me at that value. If I could meet any member of 
the Spouteroi, I should feel in the seventh heaven. 

Judge Pierce alludes to his fondness for the writings of 
Sir Walter Scott. Large portions of Scott's poetry he 
early committed to memory. The introduction to Canto III. 
of Marmion^ was a great favorite with him. A portion of 
it deserves to be quoted, as the lines, by some subtle link 
of association, became indissolubly connected with his recol- 
lections of New England, and the home of his boyhood.. 
Those who heard him recite them, many years afterwards, 
cannot have forgotten the subdued and gentle spirit in 
which he did it. As by an enchanter's wand, they seemed 
to unseal the mystic fountain of memory, and the waters 
gushed out. 

But say, my Ei-skine, hast thou weighed 
That secret power by all obeyed, 
Which warps not less the passive mind, 
Its source concealed or undefined ; 
WTiether an impulse, that has birth 
Soon as the infant wakes on earth, 
One with our feelings and our powers, 
And rather part of us than ours ; 
Or whether fitlier termed the sway 
Of habit, formed in early day? 
Howe'er derived, its force confest 
Rules with despotic sway the breast, 
And drags us on by viewless chain, 
While taste and reason plead in vain. 
Look east, and ask the Belgian why, 
Beneath Batavia's sultry sky. 
He seeks not, eager to inhale. 
The freshness of the mountain gale. 
Content to rear his whitened waU 



A FAVORITE PASSAGE FROM MARMION, 4*1 

Beside the dank and dull canal ? 
He '11 say from youth he loved to see 
The white sail gliding by the tree. 
Or see yon weather-beaten hind, 
Whose sluggish herds before him wind, 
■Whose tattered plaid and rugged cheek 
His northern clime and kindred speak ; 
Tlirough England's laughing meads he goes, 
And England's wealth around him flows ; 
Ask, if it would content him well, 
At ease in these gay plains to dwell, 
Where hedgerows spread a verdant screen, 
And spires and forests intervene, 

And the neat cottage peeps between ? 
No, not for these will he exchange 
His dark Lochaber's boundless range ; 
Nor for fair Devon's meads forsake 

Bennevis grey and Garry's lake. ^ 

Thus while 1 ape the measure wild 

Of tales that charmed me yet a child, 
Rude though they be, still with the chime, 

Return the thoughts of early time ; 
And feelings, roused in life's first day, 

Glow in the line, and prompt the lay. 

Then rise those crags, that mountain tower. 

Which charmed my fancy's wakening hour. 

Though no broad river swept along 

To claim, perchance, heroic song; 

Though sighed no groves in summer gale, 

To prompt of love a softer tale ; 

Though scarce a puny streamlet's speed 

Claimed homage from a shepherd's reed ; 

Yet was poetic impulse given. 

By the green hiU and clear blue heaven. 

It was a barren scene, and wild. 

Where naked cliffs were rudely piled : 

But ever and anon bet/reen 

Lay velvet tufts of loveliest green ; 

And well the lonely infant knew 

Recesses where the wall-flower grew, 

And honey-suckle loved to crawU 

Up the low crag and ruined wall. 

I deemed such nooks the sweetest shade 

The sun in all his round surveyed ; 

And still I thought that shattered tower 

The mightiest work of human power ; 

And marvelled, as the aged hind 

With some strange tale bewitched my mind, 

Of forayers, who, with headlong force, 



48 



MEMOIR OF S. S, PRENTISS. 

Down from that strength had spurred their horse, 
Their southern rapine to renew, 
Far in the distant Cheviot's blue, 

And home returning filled the hall 
With revel, wassail-rout, and brawl. 

Methought that still with trump and clang 

The gate-way's broken arches rang ; 

Methought grim features, seamed with scars, 

Glared through the window's rusty bars. 

And ever, by the winter hearth, 

Old tales I heard of woe or mirth, 

Of lovers' sleights, and ladies' charms, 

Of witches' spells, of warriors' arms ; 

Of patriot battles, won of old 

By Wallace wight and Bruce the bold ; 

Of later fields of feud and fight, 

When pouring from their highland height. 

The Scottish clans, in headlong sway, 

Had swept the scarlet ranks away. 

While stretched at length upon the floor. 

Again I fought each combat o'er, 

Pebbles and shells, in order laid. 

The mimic ranks of war displayed; 

And onward still the Scottish Hon bore, 
And still the scattered Southron fled before. 
Still, with vain fondness, could I trace, 

Anew, each kind familiar face, 

That brightened at our evening fire : 

From the thatched mansion's grey-haired sire, 

Wise without learning, plain and good, 

And sprung of Scotland's gentler blood; 

Whose eye in age, quick, clear, and keen, 

Showed what in youth its glance had been ; 

Whose doom discording neighbors sought, 

Content with equity unbought ; 

To him the venerable priest. 

Our frequent and familiar guest, 

Whose life and manners well could paint 

Alike the student and the saint: 

Alas ! whose speech too oft I broke 

With gambol rude and timeless joke : 

For I was wayward, bold, and wild, 

A self-willed imp, a grandame's child ; 

But, half a plague and half a jest. 

Was still endured, beloved, carest. 



EMIGRATION OF YOUNG MEN FROM NEW ENGLAND. 40 



CHAPTER III. 

limigration of Educated Young Men from New England — Maine Twenty-five Years 
ago — He determines to go West — His setting out — His Letters Home, describing 
his Journey to Cincinnati, and thence to Natchez — Notice of his Uncle, Rev. 
James Lewis — Obtains a situation as Teacher. 

JEt. 18-19. 1827. 

A PERSON who liad never examined the subject, would be 
surprised at the number of educated young men of New 
England, who annually go forth to seek their fortunes in 
other parts of the land. Sons of Massachusetts, Con- 
necticut, New Hampshire, Yermont, Khode Island, and 
Maine, fill no small portion of the offices of trust and 
honor throughout the new sections of the Union ; they 
are also found occupying the highest positions in neigh- 
boring States, and in tlie middle and southern mem- 
bers of the Old Thirteen. It was stated; several years ago, 
that thirty Representatives, in the Lower House of Con- 
gress, were natives of Connecticut, although Connecticut 
was, at that time, entitled to but two or three members ; 
and this instance is, probably, no unfair specimen of the 
general fact. 

Fronting the old world — the home of modern civilization ; 
trained in habits of free, Christian thought ; deeply imbued, 
too, with the spirit of virtuous inteUigence and mental pro- 
gress, New England must, for ages, continue to be a chief 
seat of American culture. From this hive of States and 
Statesmen, young men of superior talent, education, and 

3 



50 MEMOIR OF S. S. PilEKTISS. 

practical energy, will still swarm to near and distant parts 
of the Republic — to Nebraska, Kansas, and Minnesota ; to 
jSTew Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and California — there 
to win the prizes of wealth, honor, and renown. 

Maine, a quarter of a century ago, held out small attrac- 
tions to talent and enterprise in any of the great spheres 
of intellectual life. The professions were crowded to excess. 
Large numbers, therefore, of the young men, who had, 
received a liberal education, emigrated to other parts of the 
country, especially to the West and Southwest ; some with 
a view of returning in a few years ; but the most for the 
purpose of seeking a permanent home. The West and 
Southwest then seemed a hundred times further off than 
they do now ; indeed, so rapidly have railroads, steamboats, 
and telegraphs, brought the most distant parts of the Con- 
tinent into neighborly contact, that California and Oregon 
now appear nearer to Maine than Ohio and Mississippi did 
twenty-five years ago. 

Before leaving College, young Prentiss had formed a 
plan of going to the 'New States ; but no specific point of 
settlement was fixed upon, nor was he decided, on starting, 
whether he should remain, or return, after a few years, and 
make his home in his native State. 

How well I remember the scene of his bidding us adieu, 
and going forth in quest of fortune ! It was a beautiful 
afternoon, in the last month of summer ; the wagon and Old 
Gray were at the door ; a huge trunk, filled with a two 
years' outfit, and many a token of maternal and sisterly 
affection, was in its place ; amid numerous tears, the fare- 
well embrace was given ; then, climbing quickly to his seat, 
his manly countenance bright with hope, and followed by 
devout benedictions, he rode away towards Portland. I 
was just old enough to feel the romance of the scene, 
without appreciating its import ; and, were I to live a 



JOURNEY TO NEW YORK, 51 

tliousaiid years, the pleasing, strange emotions of that hour 
would not be forgotten. Indeed, if I were now to witness 
one quietly departing for the moon, it could hardly appear 
so wonderful as his setting out for the Far West then 
seemed to me. 

He proceeded to Boston the same night, and remained 
there, visiting a class-mate, and other friends, nearly a 
week. Unfortunately, his letter from Boston is lost. Of 
his journey from thence to Cincinnati, the following letters 
give his own description : — 

TO niS MOTHER. 

New York City, August 9, 1827. 
My Dear Mother: 

I sit down this evening to write to you, as I 
promised you I would upon my arrival in New York. You 
have, probably, before this time, received the letter I wrote you 
from Boston. I went to Mr. F.'s the same day it was dated — 
stayed there that night, and also the next day. I was very much 
pleased with them. Mr. F. appeared like an old acquaintance, 
though I never saw him before. I shall always remember their 
kind attention and hospitality. I left Boston yesterday morning 

at three o'clock, in the stage for Providence ; arrived at P 

at ten in the forenoon; went immediately on board the steamboat 
for this city, and arrived here at six this morning. The distance 
from Boston to Providence is forty-two miles, and from Provi- 
dence to New York something like two hundred and forty, — so 
that in little more than twenty-six hours I came almost three 
hundred miles. Yesterday morning I was in Boston, — this 
morning in New York. From Providence, on board the steam- 
boat, it was very beautiful; Long Island being continually in sight 
on one side, and the shores of Khode Island, Connecticut, and 
New York, upon the other. For about fifteen miles before arriv- 
ing in the city, the scenery — especially upon the mainland side — ■ 
is superior to anything I had ever imagined. It seemed like one 
vast garden ; and the eye could hardly be kept at rest upon any 



52 MEMOIR OF S. S. FREXTISS. 

single oltject — even for a moment — so many others were contin- 
ually courting the view. I could count, and distinctly see, from 
the boat, more than a hundred beautiful country-seats — large and 
elegant, and situated in the midst of luxuriant groves. These 
superb seats pleased me much more than the city itself — though 
the vastness of that astonished me. The view of it, however, 
on entering the harbor, is very much injured by its low situa- 
tion, as you can see but a small portion of it at once. The City 
Hall is the most elegant building I have ever seen, — far superior 
to anything in Boston : and the Battery is a dehghtful place for 
a walk. I am now at the American Hotel, in Broadway — the 
most fashionable street in the city. At dinner to-day we had 
plenty of fruit, peaches, musk-melons, water-melons, &c. I vvish 
I could send some of them to the children. 

I have concluded noc to go to Paterson, but shall leave the 
city to-morrow morning for Albany. I shall make no stay, I 
believe now, except to see the Falls of Niagara, as I am very 
anxious to get to the end of my journey, and to know whether 
or not T shall be able to do anything. 

I called this forenoon upon Mr. Fessenden,* — the gentleman to 
whom Mr. Pierce gave me a letter of introduction. I found him 
very polite and affable. I sat and talked with him about an 
hour on various subjects, and when I rose to come aAvay, he 
told me he would give me a letter to a gentleman — a friend of 
his — in Cincinnati. He, accordingly, wrote me one ; and, upon 
looking at it, I found it was directed to Mr. Wright,t a lawyer — 
the same one to whom I told you I should be glad to have a 
letter. He says in it, he was " very much pleased with the 
young gentleman's manners and address;" don't laugh now — for 
these are his very words. 

I called also at Mr. S.'s, where I drank tea, and from whence 
I have just returned. They were very agreeable, indeed, and 
made a thousand inquiries about Gorham, and their friends 
there. Mrs. S. says she was always acquainted with you from a 
child — asked a great many questions about you — and desired 



* Thomas Fessenden, Esq. + Nathaniel Wright, Esq. 



TRIP UP THE HUDSON. 5^ 

to be particularly remembered to you, as did also the rest of the 
family, 

I have now written you a long letter, and as I shall not pro- 
bably stop, perhaps I shall not write again till I get to Cincin- 
nati. You must (one of you) write now, so that I may hear 
very soon after my arrival. My love to all the children, and to 
all my friends — and now good night to you all. 

Your affectionate son, 

S. S. Peextiss. 



TO niS BEOTnER WILLIAM. 

BurFALO, August 17, 1827. 
My Deae Beothep. : — 

Being obliged to stay in this village* a day, wait- 
ing for the steamboat to go up the Lake, I thought I would not 
omit so good an opportunity for writing — though I told you on 
leaving New York that I should not probably write again till I 
arrived at the end of my journey. 

The next morning after I wrote you from ISTew York, I started 
for Albany in one of the steamboats up the I^orth Eiver, and 
reached Albany before dusk the same day. This was far the 
most interesting part of my route. When about twenty or 
thirty miles from the city, we passed what are called the PaH- 
sades — a vast range of chffs extending about a dozen miles along 
the right bank of the river, and varying from 300 to 1,200 feet 
in perpendicular height. They receive their name from their 
regular and uniform structure, and are, altogethe]-, very grand 
and beautiful. But they are far exceeded both in grandeur and 
beauty by the Highlands, which rise thirty or forty miles further 
up, and in the very wildest part of which — close upon the bank 
of the river — ^is situated West Point, an important post, as you 
well know, in the revolutionary war. It is still strongly forti- 
fied, and is, also, the seat of the Military School established by 
the United States. It is, indeed, a most imposing situation, 
being many hundred feet above the river (which is here very 



* The city of Buffalo had, in 1S50, a. population of 42,000. 



• 54 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

narrow), and of wliicli it has tlie most perfect command. "We 
also passed man}'- beautiful villages upon both sides of the river, 
where passengers wxre landed and received, and that, too, in a 
very curious manner. Just before arriving at any landing-place, 
the small boat was let down, having a long rope attached to it, 
the passengers and baggage put aboard, and the rope let loose. 
The boat would then run along the landing-place, leave the 
passengers — take new ones — and the rope being immediately 
attached to some of the machinery of the steamboat, in a few 
moments the small boat would be drawn alongside ai^d taken 
up. The steamboat all this time going at the rate of twelve or 
more miles an hour. The distance from New York to Albany 
is about one hundred and sixty miles, and we were about twelve 
hours in passing it. 

I made no stop at Albany, but have come directly upon my 
route so far — except yesterday, when I visited the Falls of 
Niagara. Part of the way I have come in the canal packet 
boats, which are made expressly for carrying passengers, and 
part of the way by stages. The boats go at the slow rate of 
about three miles and a half an hour. 

I stayed six or eight hours at the Falls, and viewed them as 
much as that time would allow. They are truly grand and 
magnificent ; though, I must confess, I was somewhat disap- 
pointed in them — especially in the noise, which is not half so 
. great as I had anticipated. Still, they are, probably, the most 
sublime and tremendous sight in the world ; and, I have no 
doubt, if I should see them again, I should be even more struck 
than at the first time. 

I leave this place to-morrow in the steamboat, and go up 
Lake Erie to Sandusky, in Ohio ; from there I shall take the 
stage to Cincinnati. I have had a fine time so far — notwith- 
standing that I have sometimes felt a little home-sick, as I 
suppose you would call it. However, I am not yet so sick of 
my bargain but that I would start again if I were at home. It 
seems a little odd, to be sure, to pass day after day without 
seeing any one that I know. But this does not much trouble 
me, for when I am a little home-sick I can tUinJc of my friends 
at home, and this is, in som.e degree, as if I saw them. Tell 



ARRIVES AT CINCINNATI, 55 

mother tliat I Lave met v/itli no accident, nor overslept myself 

a single morning, since I left Gorham — though she will hardly 

believe so strange a story as the last. I shall expect a letter 

from one of you very soon after my arrival at Cincinnati. Give 

my kindest respects to 3J!r Pierce and wife. Kemember me also 

to cousin Wm. Peabody,* and to all my other friends ; and now, 

last of all, my best love to mother, yourself, and all the rest of 

the children. 

Your affectionate brother, 

S. S. Prentiss. 



TO niS MOTHE E. 

CixciXN'ATi, August 23, 1S27. 

My Dear Mother: 

I arrived in this city last Friday niglit, and should 
iiave written immediately — but I thought it would be better to 
wait a day or two and deliver my letters, so that I might give 
you some account of my prospects. I presume you have received 
the letter I wrote Y/illiam from Buffalo. The next day after 
writing it, I went on board the steamboat bound up the Lake to 
Sandusky. We were thirty-sis hours on the Lake ; the distance 
is about 250 miles. The next morning after arriving at San- 
dusky, I took the stage to this place. 

The roads in this part of the country are very bad indeed. 
"We were four days in coming through, travelling every night 
till twelve o'clock, and then starting again at two in the morn- 
ing. This, as you may well suppose, was the most disagreeable 
part of it, considering how well I like to lio abed in the morn- 
ing. After I had rested here a day, I went round and delivered 
my letters. The gentleman to whom they were directed, 
received me with a great deal of politeness, and offered to assist 
me in any plans which I might have in view. IsLy first intention 
was to attempt immediately to obtain a school, but my class- 



* Wiiliam H. Peabody, M.D., now deceased. He was an able physician; full of 
devotion to the science, as well as the practice, of his noble pi'ofession. He was, 
also, an accomplished Christian gentleman, public-spirited, kind to the poor, and 
devoted lo his friends. Long will they cherish his memory. 



56 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

mate Boyd and several others, advised me against it. I am now 
in Mr. Wright's otHce — the gentleman to -whom Mr. Fessenden, 
of ISTew York, gave me a letter. He appears very friendly, and 
says he has no doubt I can support myself and pursue my studies 
at the same time. In my next letter I shall probably be able to 
tell you more about it. 

Cincinnati is a beautiful place. It is considerably larger than 
Portland, and is delightfully situated on the right bank of the 
Ohio. My office is within a few rods of the river, and looks 
directly upon it, so that I can at any time see the steam and 
other boats passing and repassing before the city. You would 
be astonished to find how cheap produce of every kind is in this 
State. Corn is sold for ten or twelve cents a bushel, and wheat 
for twenty. Apples, peai^s, peaches and melons are all ripe, and 
cheap as any one could wish. I shall now expect a letter every 
day from you — you must be sure and write often, and William 
must write me too. I shall want to hear all about the farm, and 
how things turn out upon it this year. My love to all the 
children. Give my respects to Mr. Pierce and wife, and remem- 
ber me to all my friends. 

Your afiectionate son, 

S. S. Prentiss. 



TO HIS brother WILLIAM. 

CiNciKNATr, Septerriber 27, 1827. 
My Dear Brother: 

I received your letter about three weeks since, and 

was, 1 assure you, exceedingly glad to hear from you, I am 

looking now every day for another letter, and hope I shall not 

be disappointed. You must write me as often at least as once in 

three weeks, and don't take the trouble to pay the postage of 

your letters. I am glad to hear your crops are like to turn out 

so well. I suspect you'll miss me a little in husking corn and 

bunching onions. The screwed hay, I suppose, lies on your 

liands yet ; however, I've no doubt but you'll get a good price 

for it in the course of two or three years. I presume your 

apples did not not turn out very well tliis year, at least they did 

nut bid fair for it when I left home. You must tell me how 



HIS UNCLE JAMES. 51 

many barrels of cider you make. There is here an abundance 
of fruits of every kind, peaches and melons especially. For 
three cents I can purchase more peaches than you will raise 
from the tree in the front-yard. They sell from twenty to 
twentj'-five cents a bushel, and melons you can buy — as large 
as water-pails — for a cent, or a cent and a half apiece. 
The markets here are the cheapest, perhaps, in the world. 
Meats of the best kind sell for two cents a pound, and every- 
thing else in proportion. They have their markets every day 
at five o'clock in the morning, and I often get up, even though so 
early, and walk through them, just for the sake of observing the 
abundance of everything necessary for the support of life. 
I am afraid mother won't believe this about my rising so early, 
but it is a fact. There is more doing here than at any place of 
its size in the United States. The number of inhabitants is at 
present about 17,000,* and during the year past, some 300 new 
buildings have been put up. I have not been out of the city a 
gunning yet, though I intend to go shortly. There is plenty of 
game of every kind, especially wild turkeys, an animal I pre- 
sume you never saw. They are about as large as tame turkeys 
and very much like them. I saw a great many flocks, as I came 
through the State, on the trees and in the road. I have not yet 
obtained a situation, but have several in view, and shall probably 
have got one by the time I write again. I would give not a 
little I assure you, if I could drop in and see you of an evening. 
Not a day passes but I think of you all, and I hope to see you 
all again, thougli not probably very soon. Tell Uncle James 
I shall be very glad to receive a letter from him.f Give my love 

to all the children. Tell her dollar is on good interest, and 

one of these days she shall have principal and interest. Samuel 



* The population of Cincinnati in 1S50, was 115,000. 

t The Rev. James Lewis, a venerated elder and local preacher of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, now in the eighty-sixth or seventh year of his age. There are 
few men in Maine who have been in the ministry so long, or whose Christian labors 
have been fraught with such abundant and lasting good. He entered upon his 
work in 1800, and now, after the lapse of more than half a century, is still able, 
occasionally, to resume it. During most of these fifty-five years, he has been wont 
to preach every Sabbath, generally three times, rarely losing an appointment by 
sickness, and still more rarely, if ever, by storm, in summer or winter. His labors 



3^ 



/ 



58 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

and Abby must write me themselves, and A. and G. too, as 
soon as they are able. My best love to you mother. I shall 
write you next. Give my respects to Mr. Pierce and wife, and 
all the rest of my friends. Kemember me kindly to all the 
neighbors, and write again soon. 

Yours affectionately, 

S. S. Prentiss. 

P. S. To Mother.- — Thinking vou might be a little anxious 
about my health, I Avill just say that I do not think there is a 
healthier place in the world. I never was in better health. 

Your affectionate son, 

S. S. Prentiss. 



TO HIS MOTHER. 

Louisville, Ky., October 4, 1S27. 

My Dear Mother : 

You are probably much surprised to see the date 
of ray letter, and you Avill, perhaps, be much more so to hear 



have been pretty equally divided among all the towns within fifteen miles round, and 
his rides out and back, often over the roughest roads or through heavy snows, 
would, probably, average from fifteen to twenty miles. It is estimated that he has 
officiated at not less than 1,500 funerals, sometimes riding for the purpose forty miles. 
The distance travelled by him in meeting his various Sabbath and week-day appoint- 
ments, would, doubUess, amount to considerably more than 50,000 miles. If his fune- 
ral and camp-meeting sermons be included, he can hardly have preached less than 
from S,000 to 9,000 times. He has never received a single dollar of compensation 
for his ministerial services. Unto all the tens of thousands to whom he has preached, 
he could say, with St. Paul: '■'I have coveted oio mail's silver, or gold, or apparel. 
Tea, ye yourselves knoto that these Jiands have ministered tmto my necessities." 
Though far from rich, his hospitality to his itinerant brethren used to be 
unbounded. Many a Methodist preacher recalls with delight his sojourn at 
Father Lewis's farm. He has been instrumental in organizing numerous societies, 
or local churches, and also in building many houses of worship. Indeed, in several 
towns of Cumberland and adjoining counties, he was the youthful pioneer, as he 
is now the universally beloved and revered patriarch, of Methodism. There is not 
a man llvingj the sight of whom, riding in his old gig, is so grateful to the 
eyes of thousands in Gorham, Buxton, Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth, and other 
neighboring towns, or the news of whose death would fill their hearts with such deep, 
filial grief. Here is not the place to depict his meek and guileless virtues ; but this 
I will venture to affirm, tliat when Elder Lewis departs for Heaven, he will leave 
no better man in all the State to follow after hiin !— Ed. 



LEAVES CINCINXATI FOR NATCHEZ. 59 

that I am on ray way to ISTatcliez, in tlio State of Mississippi. I 
wrote to William but little more than a week since, and I bad 
then no more idea of leaving Ohio, than I had, ten years ago, of 
leaving Maine. Indeed, it is only three days since I thought of 
it. I had, when I vv^rote last, several places in view in the city 
of Cincinnati, but have been disappointed in some of them, and 
others did not please me. I was, notwithstanding, on the point 
of taking a school, tlie wages of which Avould but little more 
than have paid my expenses. I thought, however, I would first 
ask the advice of those gentlemen with whom I had become 
acquainted ; and they all, Avithout exception, advised me — if I 
wished to spend a year or two, both pleasantly and profitably — 
to go down the Mississippi to Natchez, where I sliould, undoubt- 
edly, obtain a situation as tutor in a private family. In Ohio it 
is much the same with regard to schools as in N'ew England ; 
but it is quite different in Mississippi, and the other Southern 
States. There they have no system of common schools ; and the 
rich planters, living at a distance from each other, are obliged 
to have, each of them, a teacher in his own family. Mr. Storer 
introduced me to a couple of gentlemen who reside in Natchez, 
and who are now returniug with their families from a visit to 
the ISTorth. I am in company with them, and they tell me there 
is no doubt I can obtain immediately such a situation as I have 
described. I have, also, an abundance of letters of introduction 
to persons in JSTatchez. 

When I first thought of going South, I was rather at a loss for 
the means, as my money was about expended. I had concluded, 
at length, to take one of tlie common schools for two or three 
months, till I had earned enough to carry me to Natchez ; but, 
on mentioning the plan to Mr. Wright (with whom I have been 
studying), he told me I should not take a school, and very 
kindly oftered me any sum I wished for, Avithout security, and 
to be repaid whenever I find it convenient. I, at first, refused 
to avail myself of his generous offer — but, upon his repeating it, 
finally borrowed sufficient to carry me down the river. Mr. 
Wright is, himself, a New England man, and formerly kept the 
Academy in Portland. He is one of the finest men I ever met 



60 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

tvitli, and I shall always feel under the greatest obligations to 
him. 

I leave here in the steamboat immediately ; and shall, pro- 
bably, be ten or twelve days in descending the Ohio and 
Mississippi to Is'atchez. It is now late in the evening, and I 
must bid j'ou all ' Good night.' My love to William, Samuel, 
and all the children ; and be assured that, thougli my distance 
from home is somewhat increased, my love and affection for it 
will never be diminished. 

Your affectionate son, 

S. S. Prextiss. 



In a letter, dated Cincinnati, March 29, 1852, Mr. 
Wrio'ht writes : — 



'a' 



I assure you I remember well your brother, S. S. Prentiss, 
and have always remembered him, with much interest. He was 
introduced to me by Bellamy Storer, Esq., of the Bar here, for- 
merly of Portland ; and, having spent some time in Portland 
myself, and having many warm friends there, I was led to such 
conversation with him as occasioned his stating to me his object 
in visiting the West, his plans, &c. I saw in him very interest- 
ing and very promising traits of character, young as he then 
was, and tendered to him my services, and invited him to spend 
his time in my office as long as he chose. We took considerable 
pains to find a school for him, but found no situation at all 
inviting ; one place, at a village about twelve miles out of town, 
had engaged his attention, and he was thinking strongly of going 
there to teach a school for the winter, though he disliked it 
exceedingly ; for our Western villages were rough and dull, 
and he would be removed from all the friends he had made in 
town. He evidently felt rather downcast at this time, not dis- 
couraged — for he always showed much energy — but a little 
home-sick, I thought. There were so many young men flocking 
West, that it was difficult for them to find employment; teachers 
were not in demand, as in New England ; he was short of 



LEAVES OHIO FOR MISSISSIPPI, 61 

money, and, I saw, was very unwilling to apply to friends for it. 
He spent Lis time pretty much in my office ; but lawyers' offices 
here furnish no compensating employment for students. I con- 
trived, however, tothrow some trifle into his hands. la Sep- 
tember he became acquainted with a gentleman residing, or 
well acquainted, at Xatchez, who became interested in him, 
and made such statements to him, in relation to prospects in 
that region, tb.at he was disposed to try his fortune there. 
Ue hesitated a good deal about it, however, and. seemed 
reluctant to separate liimself so far, both in place and people, 
from his early associations. But his native energy prevailed. I 
told hiui I had no doubt he would find employment there for 
the time being, and a good field for enterprise. Yankees of 
talents and integrity generally succeed there. My only fear was, 
that lie was too modest for that region, — diffident^ perhaps, I 
should say. 

'^ I gave him a couple of letters, one of them to a man who 
died before he got there, and he started off. I have not often 
parted with one, after so short an acquaintance, with so much 
regret, lie left here about the beginning of October, 1827, spent 
near a month in descending the river ; and, after teaching more 
than a year, and completing his legal studies, was admitted to the 
bar in 1829 ; and after this, rose, like an eagle cut loose from 
the cord that had bound it, till he soared above all of his profes- 
sion in the State, and among the first orators of his times. 

" He wrote to mo repeatedly, after reaching Mississippi. He 
could hardly reconcile himself to the country, the manners, the 
want of ISTew England comfort and neatness; and, for some 
time, expressed a determination to return ISTorth, as soon as he 
had accumulated the means of finishing the study of his profes- 
sion. 

" "While in my office here, he was very studious, sociable, and 
pleasant; showing clearness and quickness of mind, and great 
command of language, for one so young. He was retired, rather 
secluded in his course of life, keeping his main object ever in 
view. I ever felt great interest in him, and regarded his death, 
in the very prime and vigor of life, as a national loss. 



62 MEMOIR OF S. S, PRENTISS. 

TO n I S M O T n E 11 . 

Natchez, Miss., Noveniber 8, 1827. 
My Dear Mother: 

You have, probably, receh^ed before this a letter, 
dated at Louisville, Ky., informiug you that I had left Cincin- 
nati for this place. I arrived here yesterday, having been about 
three weeks in performing the journey. The steamboat ran 
aground several times upon the sand-bars, on one of which she 
lay a week. "While the hands were getting her off, the passen- 
gers would go ashore, and hunt, there being plenty of game in 
the woods. I came very near, at one time, being left behind by 
my love of hunting. The boat had run aground one morning, 
and the captain told us we might go a gunning, as he didn't 
think he should be able to get her off before night. Accord- 
ingly several of us went ashore with our guns, and went into 
the woods. I parted from the rest, and followed up a little 
creek in pursuit of some wild ducks. Having spent a couple of 
liours, and killed three of the ducks, I returned to the bank of the 
river — when, behold ! the boat was gone. There Avas a little 
log cabin close by (the only habitation for perhaps thirty miles 
round), where I immediately inquired what had become of the 
boat, and was told she had started at least an hour before. I 
was, as you may well imagine, in a pretty pickle. They told me, 
however, that she would, probably, stop to take in wood about 
two miles below, and that, if I was expeditious, I might, possi- 
bly, overtake her. I accordingly threw away my ducks, shoul- 
dered my musket and marched on as fast as I could. Upon 
arriving at the place, I saw the boat had left it, and was nearly 
half a mile on her way. I hailed her as loudly as possible, when 
she put about, came back and took me in. But if I had been 
one minute later, I should have lost my chance, I could ha\'o 
staid, however, at the log-cabin, till another boat came along. 
But it was a dreary place, and in the midst of the forest. Tell 
Abby to look upon her map at about the middle of that pai-t of 
the State of Indiana which borders on the Ohio river, and slie 
will be near the spot. 
The country is very little inhabited on the banks either of tlie 



0I3T.AIXS A SITUATION. 63 

Ohio or the Missi.^sippi. Most of it, ah;ng the Mississippi espe- 
cially, is entirely overflo\Yed for half the year. Sometimes there 
is a little spot which can be cultivated, and in such places I have 
seen the corn fifteen feet high. The banks of the Mississippi are 
also covered with immense brakes of cane, or reed, which grow 
very thick together, and are of a most beautiful green. 

I had letters to some of the first men in ISlatchez, which I 
have delivered ; and they tell me they have no doubt I shall 
obtain, in a few days, such a situation as I wish. They appear 
very friendly, and oflfer to assist me in any way I may desire. 

I am very anxious to hear from you all. You must write 
often, and tell me how everything goes on at home — how the 
neighbors do, and what crops you have raised from the farm. 
Tell Uncle James to write me too, if he has not already done so. 
You will hear from me again soon.^ In the meantime, my love 

to you all. 

Your aifectionate son, 

S. S. X. 



TO niS BEOTIIEE WILLIAM. 

Natchez, November 21, 1S27. 

Deae Beothee : 

You will, no doubt, be glad to hear — at any rate 
I am glad to be able to write you— that I have at length obtained 
a situation. It is in the family of a widow lady, who lives about 
twelve miles from here, in the country. She has five children, 
whom I shall have to teach. It is said to be one of the 
most respectable famihes in the country. The lad}^, too, I under- 
stand, is very pious, which will suit mother exactly. Her name 
is Shields. The great advantage of the situation is, that Mrs. 
Shields has in her house one of the finest law-libraries in the 
State— her husband having been formerly Judge of the Supreme 
Court. I am to have the entire use of this Hbrary ; so that I 
shall be in as good a situation for pursuing my studies, as if I 
were in a lawyer's office. I made the engagement yesterday, 
and to-morrow shall go out to stay. 

T suppose it is not far from Thanksgiving time now. I would 



64 MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTISS. 

Avalk a great way to be at home on that day. You must remem- 
ber me when you carve the roast turkey, and cut the pumpkin 
pies. I am exceeding anxious to hear from you, having had 
but one letter since I left home. Remember me, as usual, to my 
friends and the neighbors. My love to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

S. S. Peextiss. 



TO MES. EYELIXA PIEECE, GOEHAM, ME. 

Natchez, Miss., Deoemher 6, 1827. 
My Deae Madam: — 

It is with the greatest pleasure that I comply 

with your request that I should write you some account of my 

fortune after I left New England. It is a task too agreeable 

to omit, though, alas ! my adventures have been of so ordinary a 

nature that I am afraid they are hardly worth relating. I have 

met no giants — seen no damsels in distress — and, upon my 

honor, have been neither robbed, drowned nor murdered, — 

although I have travelled about three thousand miles since I 

left home. I beg leave to correct myself^I did see one damsel 

in distress, and it was a case in which my knight-errantry was 

of some avail. It was on board one of the packet-boats between 

Albany and Utica, and thus it was : — A young lady, one of the 

passengers, looking over a newspaper, saw the article about a 

Frenchman's mounting in a balloon from the vessel which was 

to go over the Falls of Niagara. " Good heavens!" said she to 

the gentleman next to her; "Is it a fiict, or is it only a quiz?" 

He could not inform her ; she applied to the next one— he was 

as ignorant as the former. The poor girl was in an agony of 

curiosity; to one and to all the question was put, "Was it a 

fact?" "Was a Frenchman to rise in a balloon ?"— one and all 

were profoundly ignorant. At last she applied to me— but it 

was with a kind of desperation, and a look which told that she 

did not expect much from so insignificant a looking animal as 

myself. I pitied her sad condition, and, thinking it would bo 

uncharitable to suffer so fair a maiden to die of curiosity, told 

her that it was absolutely a fact — that I li ;d sevn tlie French- 



NIAGARA FALLS. 65 

man in ISTew York, and conversed wiKi him. The gentlemen 
stared at me, as much as to say, in plain English, I lied. But 
the damsel — thinking she had learned a wonderful piece of 
information — repaid me with a smile that was richly worth 
forty — ^lies. But I beg your pardon for talking such nonsense, 
and would advise you to skip the preceding page. 

I travelled very rapidly from -Portland to Cincinnati, stop- 
ping only at Boston, oSTew York and ^STiagara Falls. At Boston 
I stayed a week — part of which I spent at Mr. F.'s, and very 
pleasantly, too. At New York I stayed but three days, nor had 
I any desire to stay longer — two or three hours were entirely 
sufficient to gratify all my curiosity for seeing. I have some- 
what tlie feeling of the trapper in the Prairie in that respect ; 
and the Highlands of the Hudson afforded me far more gratifica- 
tion than all I saw in the city of New York. I stayed at Niagara 
but two days, though I should have been glad to tarry there a 
week, could I have done ic conveniently. I was disappointed in 
this stupendous cataract; as, indeed, I could hardly fail to have 
been. I had heard and read of it so often that I had formed a 
vague idea of something vast and grand beyond what it is possi- 
ble* for nature to produce. Of course when I saw the real 
cataract, though far the most sublime and magnificent sight I 
had ever beheld, still it did not equal my expectation. In fact, 
I have been disappointed in almost everytTiing I have seen, and 
begin to suspect that there is not so much difference between 
one part of the country and another as I had imagined. Indeed, 
I have a vastly better opinion even of the good town of Gorham, 
than I had before I left it. The imagination is very prone to 
clothe remote objects with a thousand charms which, in reality, 
they do not possess ; and whatever knowledge of fact is want- 
ing, is amply made up by the illusions of fancy. For this reason 
we prefer visiting remote places, to those which are near us ; 
and a person will often go a thousand miles to see an object, 
which a man who lives within twenty of it, has never taken the 
trouble to examine. 

'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, 
And robes the mountain in its azure hue. 



66 irEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

At Cincinnati I stayed about two months; during whicli time 
I pursued ni}^ studies in the office of Mr. "Wright. My funds 
beginning then to wax low, I was obhged to bestir myself, and 
concluded to try my fortune further south. * * -* * 

I have now written you a letter, which, I am afraid, will 
exhaust your patience in reading. I hope, however, you as well 
as Mr. Pierce, will consider it worth an answer ; not so much 
on account of itself, as the feeling which dictated it. The plea- 
sant days I spent at your house Avill not soon be forgotten — for 
they were among the pleasantest of my life ; and I shall always 
gratefully remember the kind interest which Mr. Pierce and 
yourself were pleased to express in my welfare. Accept my 
sincere and respectful wishes for your happiness. 

Your obedient servant, 

S. S. Prentiss. 

J^Tota Bene. — The lasses are not so handsome here as they are 
in Maine. 



TO niS MOTHER. 

Natchez, Miss., Deceiiiber 22, 1827. 

Mt Dear Mother: 

I am afraid you will think I write almost too often. 
At any rate you can hardly complain that I do not write often 
enough, since I have sent you, I believe, some nine or ten letters 
within the short time I liave been from home. I wrote to Wil- 
liam about four weeks ago, informing you that I had, at length, 
become stationary, which, doubtless, you were very glad to hear, 
as 3'^ou might begin to think I had become a wandering sort of a 
character. I have been now three weeks in my new situation, 
and am very much pleased with it indeed. It is an extremely 
pleasant family, and my labor is sligiit, in comparison with what 
it would be in a common school, and the only objection I have 
is its great distance from home ; a circumstance which I presunie 
I think of fully as often as you can yourself. If I could run 
over a couple of thousand miles in the course of an evening, you 
would be likel}' to see me amongst you two or three times a 



WINTER AT TilK .SOUTH. AND COTTON. 67 

week, at least. However, as that is impossible, at least for such 
a slow traveller as I am, I must even make the best of it, and 
visit you in imagination, if I cannot in reality. I shall probably 
continue here a year, at any rate till a better situation offers. 
I mean in point of salary, for in other respects I should not wish 
a better. I have, as I told you in my last, three hundred dol- 
lars a year and board. I have also the privilege of taking in 
two or three of the neighbors' children, which will probably 
bring me in another hundred. I am confined about three or four 
hours a day, and the rest of tne time I have entirely to myself. 
I spend it in studying law, reading and gunning. I have a horse 
whenever I wish to ride, and gun and ammunition, when I wish 
to go a hunting, which I do an hour or two almost every day. 
Indeed, 1 have everything found me I can possibly wish, and 
the only expense I can be at, will be for my clothing, of which 
I have a sufficient quantity for a long time to come, thanks to 
the care of a mother. They have no snow in this part of the 
country ; of course no sleigh-riding, a thing I shall miss very 
much. It is already their winter here, yet a fire is seldom 
needed, and the roses are blooming every day in the garden. 
They sow green peas at Christmas, and in February the spring 
opens, and they go to work in the fields. For myself, however, 
[ prefer the cold weather of the Iforth ; it is so delightful to sit 
by a good fire and hear the storm whistling without and beating 
acainst the windows, while all is comfortable and pleasant 
within. Still this is a very beautiful climate in the winter, and 
perhaps I shall like it even better than my own, when I become 
a little more accustomed to it. Cotton is the production of this 
part of the Union, and here they raise nothing else upon their 
plantations. I have seen thousands of acres of it since I came 
here. It is picked from the stalks by negroes, and being cleaned 
of the seed by machines called gins, is then packed up in bales, 
nearly as it comes to you. The cotton plant is about the size 
of your currant bushes, or perhaps a little larger, and the cotton 
grows in pods as large as hen's eggs. When it is ripe the pods 
burst open, so that a field of ripe cotton looks somewhat as if it 
were covered with snow\ The plantations yield from fifty to 



68 



MEiioiR oy s. 



TREXTTSS. 



tliree or four hundred bales each, I wrote to Mr. Boyd, at Cin- 
cinnati, a month since, to forward me any letters there might be 
for me there. In a few days, I presume, I shall receive them? 
which I am very anxious to do, as I have had but one letter from 
any of you since I left home. I wish you to write me at least 
once in three weeks, and tell me all the news of your part of the 
world; how the children do, how they come on with their 
studies, how much you have raised on the farm, who among my 
acquaintances are getting married, how the neighbors all do ; 
the most trifling things will all be interesting to me, now I am 
so far from home. I believe I told you in my last to direct your 
letters to Natchez, Miss. I also date mine there, though I live 
ten miles from the city. My love to Wilham and Samuel, and 
all the children. Remember me, also, to all the neighbors. 
Eeceive for yourself the best wishes of your truly affectionate 
son, 

S S. Peextiss. 



THK I'ARM fciOLU. ^9 



CHAPTER IV. 

Letters Home while teaching in the Famiiy of Mrs. Shields — Notice of George W. 
Pierce— Letters from his Class-mate, Appleton — Takes Charge of an Academy — 
Trip into Louisiana — Anecdotes of him by one of his pupils — Is Licensed, and 
commences the Practice of Law in Partnership with Gen. Iluston — His Appear- 
ance at this time— Anecdote of his first Speech at the Bar— Trip to Columbia 
Springs — Uis Views of Slavery. 

^T. 19—22. 1828—1831. 



TO niS MOTIIEE. 

Natchez, February 12, 1S2S. 
My Deae Mother: — 

I again sit down to the pleasant task of writing to 
3'ou — and, for a little while, shall almost imagine myself at 
home. Indeed it requires very little stretch of the imagination 
to carry me back amongst you ; and often, when I awake in the 
morning, I expect to hear you calling me to breakfast — forget- 
ting that I am two thousand miles beyond the reach of your 
voice. 

I received, last week, a letter from you and TTilliam, dated 
December 2-itli ; and was very glad that you had heard of my 
safe arrival here, as I knew you would be anxious about me till 
you did. AVilliam says you were all astonished at my letter 
from Louisville — you cannot have been more so than I was to 
find, by his letter, that you had sold the farm, and moved into 
the village. Though I doubt not it is for the best, still, I assure 
you, it made me feel disagreeably to learn that the place, where 
we had so long lived together, where I have so often been 
a-gunning and fishing, had passed into the hands of a stranger. 
Perhaps, one of these days, one of us will be able to repurcliase 
it. But I doubt not, as I said before, it was much the best 



^0 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



thing you could do; and I am more especially glad because it 
will free you from so much care and trouble, and will give the 
children such great advantages for schooling. You must now 
be very pleasantly situated — that is, if you have got into your 

new house. I imagined it could be no other than Mr. C 's, 

as T had heard you speak frequently of purchasing that, in case 
you should ever move to the village. 

1 am glad that "William has given up the idea of going to sea ; 
in my opinion he has acted wisely. What does Samuel turn his 

mind to ? As for G , we were to make an admiral, or some 

other great character, of him ; tell him to mind his book, and 
take care of the garden. I am glad Abby has the advantage of 
the seminary, for she is sufficiently old to attend some such 
institution. The girls ought to have all the advantages possible ; 
we boys can easily take care of ourselves. I am very much 
alarmed to hear that your health is not as good as it has been. 
I hope you will take every possible care of it — do not be over- 
anxious about us children. 

The first quarter of my school is out to-morrow night. I go 
into company very little, though I have been introduced to most 
of the people hereabouts — I feel no inclination for society — and, 
besides, I cannot afford the time from my studies. I wish to get 
through with my profession, and settle somewhere as soon ay 
possible. Sometimes, however, I am very lonesome, and would 
give a good deal, could I drop in of an evening, and find you all 
together. 

I do not like the manner of living here, so well as I do our 
Northern fashion. The white people themselves differ very 
little, as I can perceive, from those of our own part of the 
country. Slavery is the great pest of this as well as all the 
other Southern States. It is considered disgraceful for a white 
man to do any kind of hand labor — and everything is done by 
tlie slaves. Of course, things are done in a very poor and 
slovenly manner ; and, though the people here are far wealthier 
than they are in the North, yet I do not think they live so com- 
fortably or so happily. The negroes themselves, however, 
appear to enjoy life, and are, for aught I see, as happy as their 



HIS PUPILS. tl 

# 

masters. It is not often that they are treated so cruelly as we 
are accustomed to suppose, and in general they are better off 
than they would be if they v/ere free — still it is a hard case for 
them at best. 

I have nothing new to tell you concerning myself since I 
wrote last. As I shall probably continue here a year, at least, 
and should hke to have the news from Maine, I wish you would 
send me the weekly Eastern Argus. If you will speak to Mr. 
Pierce, he will attend to it. 

And now, my dear mother, as it is very late, I bid you good, 
night, and also the children, to all of whom I send my love. 
Eemember me, as usual, to all my friends. 

Your affectionate son, 

S. S. Peentiss. 



TO niS BROTHEE WILLIAIM. 

Natchez, April 20, 1S2S. 
Deapw Brother : — 

I was very glad, as you may well suppose, to hear 
from you all again, and to know that you are well and happy. 
I have nothing new to tell you concerning myself, as I keep 
pretty close to ray business — studying all the time I can spare— 
and, of course, meet with nothing very interesting or extraor- 
dinary. I continue to be much pleased with my situation — and, 
indeed, do not think I could have found one in the whole State 
so Avell adapted to my views. As I told you before, I have the 
sole use of a very extensive and excellent law library, which I 
consider as good as a hundred dollars a-year at least. There is 
also a large library of miscellaneous books — so that I am in no 
want of this essential article, without which, indeed, I should 
hardly bo able to exist. The family is a kind and amiable one ; 
and, if I did not utterly detest the business of teaching, my 
situation would be quite bearable. 

Mother requests the names and ages of my scholars. They 
are as follows : — William, who has just returned from ITashville; 
he is about eighteen years of age, and a fine young fellow. The 



72 ^ MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

next is Gabriel, who is sixteen, an excellent scholar, and also a 
fine young man. The others are Francina, Joseph, and Elizabeth, 
of the respective ages of thirteen, nine, and six. They are all of 
good disposition, and I find no trouble whatever in managing 
them. 

I am glad to hear you have given up the idea of going to sea ; 
at least if you can get business on shore. Probably you will 
turn your attention towards trading, with the intention of 
becoming a merchant. At any rate that is what I would do 
myself, had I not a profession. I consider it far the easiest, as 
well as one of the most respectable, roads to wealth ; and did I 
care much about wealth, I would, even now, change my pur- 
suits. For I consider the profession of law in New England 
(where I think I shall settle myself eventually, after all ), as one 
of the very poorest, in point of emolument. In this State, how- 
ever, the lawyers "live in clover," as we say; the most ordinary 
make two or three thousand dollars a-year, and some of them 
five, six, and seven. Perhaps you will ask me why I intend 
leaving a place where money is so easily made? I am not sure 
that I shall; but the reasons which induce me to think about it 
are these — one of the first an(l most powerful, as you may well 
suppose, is that I may be nearer my friends ; another is, that I 
would dislike to live in a slave-holding State ; furthermore, I 
have seen no part of the Union which I think pleasanter, all 
things considered, than that which I left. The only advantages 
which these Southern States possess over those of the North, 
are the greater faciUties they aff'ord for the accumulation of 
weakh, and this, you know, I consider a very small item in the 
account of human happiness. At least, I know it would have 
small influence upon my own. There are some other reasons 
which induce me to think that, in the course of two or three 
years, you will see me amongst you again. 

You astonished me very much by your account of the won- 
derful things that are going on at Gorham. A dancing school ! 
and you attending it ! ! Why really, brother, I should not have 
expected that of you. I am afraid };ou have become entangled 
with some of the young ladies at the village, and are trying to 
"•liop" into tlicir good graces. 



AUNT D 'J3 

Pray write, you or mother, as often as every three weeks, 
and oftener still, if convenient. Tell me everything that hap- 
pens — even the most minute news will be interesting. My lovo 
to you all. Remember me particularly to Mr. Pierce and wife 
— as well as to all our relatives and acquaintances. 

Your affectionate brother, 

S. S. Peentiss. 

My kindest respects to my new-married cousin B , and 

tell her I wish her much joy. How is x\unt D ? Tell her 

I think of her often.* 



TO n I 3 B E T n E E WILLIAM- 

Natchez, Juiw 23, 1828. 

Deae Beothee: — 

TJio weather here, for two months past, has been 
intensely warm ; I do not, however, suffer so much from it as I 
anticipated — owing in a great measure, as I think, to my very 
profuse perspiration, which is so great that my clothes are 
almost continually wet through with it. My health has, as yet, 
been very good, and I have hopes will continue so through the 
summer. 

I have ridden round the country considerably since I have 

* This venei-ated relative died in 1S49, at the advanced age of more than four- 
score years. She was a native of Cape Cod, and an excellent specimen of the 
household energy, thrift, good sense, and self-denying toil, which marked the noble 
women of New England in the age of the Revolution, or in the earlier days of the 
Pilgrims. Her kindness and personal devotion to the sick, were quite wonderful. 
At Gorham, where the most active portion of her life was passed, she was a true 
Sister of Charity ; and long will her memory be cherished in that pleasant village. 

For many years hardly anybody could be sick without sending for " Aunt D ;" 

and whether it were night or day, in summer or winter, sunshine or storm, who 
ever knew her refuse to come, if she had strength to do so ? It was worth a fit of 
illness to have he)' to tend you ; she was always so cheerful, and motherly, and 
strong-minded. It would be a long record that should commemorate all her acts of 
mercy and neighborly love ; that should tell how many nights of watching she spent 
in the sick-rooms, alike of rich and poor, or how many eyes were, by her friendly 
haads, closed in death. This passing tribute to her worth is the more grateful, 
tnasmnch as she had a particular affection for the subject of this memoir. — Ed. 

4 



u 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PliENTISS, 



been here, but have seeu nothing worth relating.'^ The appear- 
ance of things is as uninteresting as you can Avell imagine. 
There are no mountains to enliven the prospect; the streams 
and brooks are httle muddy puddles, running through gullies 
and quagmires, — and the lakes, of which there is a great num- 
ber, are perfect honey-pots, very similar to one or two little 
ponds, which you may recollect, on the Avay to Sebago Pond. 
These lakes abound in snakes and alligators. I have frequently 
rode out to several lakes a few miles from here, for the purpose 
of hunting Avild ducks, and have seen some of these enormous 
ahigators — twelve or fifteen feet in length. In the heat of the 
day they come out of the water upon the banks, where they 
delight to lie and bask in the sun. I have been up to several as 
they lay asleep on the shore — within two feet — and examined 
them as closely as I pleased. They are not dangerous upon 
land, though considered so in the water. 

The houses of the planters, notwithstanding their wealth, are 



* The spot where Natchez stands forms the principal scene of the romance of 
The Natchez — of which Aiala, mentioned in your letter, is you know, an episode. 
I have read the work since I have been here, and with great interest, as you may 
imagine. * * The appearance of the country, in the vicinity of Natchez, is 
the most singular I have ever seen — especially when contrasted with the rest of 
the Mississippi banks. I have been in every direction for forty or fifty miles 
around, and have, therefore, had a good opportunity for observing it. Though 
there are no hills of any magnitude, yet it is the most broken and uneven country 
in the world. Apparently it might onee have been level, but has been torn to 
pieces by the rains, which, by-the-by, are far more violent here than in the North. 
Indeed, the country is a continued succession of ridges, ravines and gullies. The 
nature of the soil is such, that a single rain will often tear a field to pieces, and 
render it entirely unfit for cultivation. It is principally of clay, and destitute of all 
minerals. I have not seen a rock as large as my head since I came here. With 
respect to the state of society, I have not found so great a difference between the 
South and the North as I had anticipated. Still the distinction, in many respects, 
is marked. It being considered here, degrading for a white man to labor in the 
field, the people, of course, have much time upon their hands, to get rid of which 
they have balls, parties, ride about, and, especially, employ much of their time in 
hunting ( deer are their principal game, of which there is a great abundance ; the 
largest portion of this State being still a forest). They live rather more f^eelp 
than we of the North, and are what, perhaps, we should call a little dissipated; 
yet, on the whole, I thick the state of society is more correct, and the people more 
moral, than they are usually considered.— Ze«<?r to Judge Pierce, April 11, 1828. 



GEORGE W. PIERCE. 75 

not better than those of our common farmers. They are, usually 
two or three miles distant from each, otlier, and each one sur- 
rounded by some ten, twenty or thirty negro cabins, which are 
the very pictures of misery and filth. You inquire about politics. 
I can give but slight information on that subject, as it is one 
concerning which I trouble myself none at all, and for which 
I do not care a brass button. Old Hickory, I suppose, has this 
State, though the friends of the Administration are quite nume- 
rous. When I go into Katchez, I will have one of our papers 
sent you, by which you will learn more than I can tell you on 
the subject. I have received the Argus regularly, and am much 
obliged to you for it. It will give me all the news from Maine. 
I am glad you have become acquainted with Hilliard and G. 
Pierce. Hilliard is a particular friend of mine, and though I can 
boast of nothing more than a common acquaintance with G. 
Pierce, I think him a very fine fellow.* My love to you all. 

Your afiiectionate brotlier, 

S. S. Peextiss. 



* George W. Pierce was born at Baldwin, Me., December 2, 1805. He graduated 
at Bowdoin College, in the class of 1S25, and studied law at Poi-tland, with Hon. 
Stephen Longfellow (a name not less honored by the social worth, patriotic virtues , 
and legal abitity of the father, than by the poetic genius of the sou), and 
afterwards at the Law-school in North Hampton, where he occupied the same 
room, I believe, with his friend and distant relative, President Pierce. He was 
admitted to the Bar of Cumberland County inlS29, and in 1S32 married the eldest 
daughter of Mr. Longfellow. He was rising rapidly in his profession, having 
already twice represented Portland in the State Legislature, and been elected in 
1S34, County Attorney, when sudden disease cut him off, in the very bloom of man- 
hood, Nov. 15, 1S35. His untimely decease was regarded as a public misfortune, and 
smote with grief an unusually large and cultivated circle of kindred and friends. 
At the opening of the Supreme Court, on the day preceding the interment, the late 
Chief Justice Mellen announced his death with the touching eloquence of a perso- 
nal bereavement, to which Judge Parris responded in a similar strain. Had his 
life been spared, he bid fair to reach high honors in the Democratic party, of which 
he was so bright an ornament. I remember him well when studying, for a while, 
in his brother's office at Gorham. Though a mere boy at the time, I shall never 
lose the impression he made upon me by his manly beauty, the gentle courtesy of 
his manners, and the cordial, benignant smile with which he always accosted me. 
He was, indeed, a fine specimen of humanity, and one might almost wish to die as 
early as he died, for the sake of being mourned with such holy and undecaying 
affection as has enshrined Ms memory ! — Ed. 



76 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



About this time he became extremely restless and melan- 
choly. For several months a dark cloud seemed to hang over 
his mind. He avoided society, and refused to tell any one 
the cause of his gloom. In the letter to Judge Pierce, just 
quoted, he writes : 



It was, I assure yon, with no common degree of i)leasure I 
received the kind letter from yourself and wife, which came to 
my hand a few days since. It gratified me much to hear of your 
welfare, and also to perceive I was not entirely forgotten by 
those whose remembrance I value so highly, more especially 
as I had begun to feel the sorrowful conviction that I was 
already blotted from the memory of all except the few whom 
the ties of kindred place under a kind of necessity of recollecting 
me. I know not how it is, but though there is no person in the 
world whose heart responds more warmly, when touched upon 
the chord of affection, it has yet been my fortune to make very 
few friends (perhaps not one) in the short portion of life through 
which I have travelled. I speak not now of the common herd 
of acquaintances, such as I have here, such as any one may have, 
who will laugh when you laugh, but when you look sorrowful, 
flee from you as if you were infected. I mean those who would 
at least drop a tear over your grave, and read with a sorrowful 
eye, the " Hie jacet " upon your tombstone. I doubt not but 
the defect is in myself; but I have seldom met the person whose 
feelings Avere so much in unison with my own, as to make an 
intimacy either practicable or desirable. You may judge, then, 
of the great pain I should feel, upon losing the remembrance of 
the very few whose remembrance I care anything about pre- 
serving. 1 am very grateful, [he adds, in a note to Mrs. 

Pierce, of the same date] both to yourself and Mr. Pierce, for 
the interest you express in my fortunes, and can only assure you 
that your kind feelings are fully and heartily reciprocated. The 
short time I spent in your house, seems to me now like one of 
those green spots which frequently spring up in the midst of a 
desert, and which are the more delightful from the barrenness 
that surrounds them. 



LETTEPw FROM HIS FRIEND APPLETON. 7t 

The following additional extracts from letters of liis friend 
Appleton, though partly belonging to an earlier period, reflect 
light upon this phase of his inner life. The last of them is a 
model of good sense and friendly counsel. Happy would it 
have been for him, if his morbid impulses had always been as 
wisely and kindly treated. 

WILLIAIM APPLETOX TO S. S. PEEXTISS. 

Derrt, Axigust 11, 1827. 

Dear Chum: 

I received yours in due course of mail, and yester- 
day a letter from T , informing me of your leaving for Ohio. I 

am glad that you received, before setting out, such favorable 
accounts of matters and things, and trust your anticipations 
will be realized. I thought I had told you of the intentions I 
formerly had of going to the South. If I had gone, however, I 
should have hardly been nearer you than I now am. I have 
some thoughts of engaging here for some time longer, but it is 
uncertain ; I want you to write me in your next, with regard to 
the facilities for the study of the law, at Cincinnati. Whether 
it is possible to get situations which will defray expenses, 
while, at the same time, one is pursuing the study. How long 
a time is required for admission? Can a person of moderate 
abilities succeed better there than here, or support himself and 
gain a competence more easily ? These questions I will thank 
you to answer to the best of your ability, and also, give such 
other information as you may think useful. I have, for some time^ 
tliought that I should practise my profession in some place more 
free from lawyers, and fruitful in clients, than Js'ew England ; but 
I have as yet formed no definite plan for my future life. The pro- 
spect of being near you would be a very great inducement to me 
to go. Indeed the prospect of finding so old and firm a friend, 
would alone reconcile me to leaving so many. Tou will oblige 
me by writing me about the matter as soon as possible. I don't 
think it at all probable that I shall go for some time, if indeed 
I ever do, but I should like to have some means of comparing 
the advantages of the two States, before I form any plans for a 



IS 



},rr:Moiii or 



.S. PRENTISS. 



permanent residence here. As I told you on my first page, I heard 
from T , yesterday. He was on the eve of leaving Bruns- 
wick, and did not intend to return there. 

I shall probably attend the Cambridge Commencement, and go 

to N , from Boston. I hope nothing will happen to prevent, 

as I anticipate much pleasure in seeing T again, and talking 

over auld lang syne. The recollection of two or three college 
friendships are the only things which I can recur to with plea- 
sure, as happening during my college life, and I trust you know 
me too well to think there is any affectation of* sincerity in my 
saying that through life I shall remain true to the friends I have 
acquired. 

You did not inform me with regard to your intentions, whe- 
ther they were to enter the practice as soon as possible or pur- 
sue some other employment, for some time. 

You saw, I suppose, some of our classmates on your way. I am 
entirely ignorant of the fate of most of them. 

I shall endeavor to hunt up McLellan and Apthorp, in Boston. 
I saw Joe a short time since. He appears already, what in 
college was apparently the highest object of his ambition, a 
complete blood. 

If your letters give me favorable accounts of the place, it is 
possible that I may then set out for the "Western Canaan. I 
wish I could tell you some news, but I know of nothing. I 
have neither seen nor heard of any person or thing lately, which 
would interest you in the least. Indeed, I can think of nothing 
else to say, unless I should reiterate expressions of my friendship 
for you, which you are too well assured of to require. Write 
soon, and long. 

Sincerely yours, 

Wm. Appleton. 



FP. OJSI THE BAME TO THE SAME, 



Derrt, Oct. 14, 1327. 

Dear Chum : — 

I received your letter in due course of mail, and 
was s£>r)y that I had proposed to vou those questions, the answers 



COLLEGE NEWS. 19 

to which, almost filled your letter, as you had so little room to 
talk about yourself. A day or two after I last wrote you, I made 
an engagement to remain here a year longer, so for the pre- 
sent, at least, I shall not think of visiting the Western Country. 
You almost frightened me by the story you told of the state of 
your finances, but I trust you have ere this obtained a situation 
lucrative enough to reimburse you. You want to hear all about 
matters and things, and I will tell you as well as I can recollect. 
I attended Cambridge Commencement, saw Mac. in Boston, 
also, Tom McDougall. Cleaveland and Merriam visited me some 
days since. They are at Andover. Cleaveland intends going to 
New York soon,lo finish his study, and to practice Law. Merriam 
to be a pedagogue for life. They had a tolerable Commence- 
ment at Bowdoin. 

I had a letter from Lord lately. He will soon go into business 
as a merchant. He mentions having seen several of our class- 
mates, Farrar and others. 

I saw Moulton, of the class after us, at meeting to-day, but not 
long enouG-h to learn the Maine news. I will see him to-mor- 
row, and on the faith of his having something interesting to 
communicate, I will not finish my letter till then. 

I trust you find good cigars in Ohio. The Lord knows how 
I should get through with the day without my two. To speak 
the truth, chum, this is a curious world that we live in. We are 
perpetually either lamenting the shortness of hfe, or devising 
measures to kill time. Would that you could help me puff 
away the blues. It was really good to see Cleaveland with a 
cigar in his mouth, in my chimney corner. As the blue cloud 
settled over our heads, I almost fancied I could trace in it the 
phantoms of old college friends, armed with similar mouth-piece. 

Moulton has told me that Bowdoin C , has become very 

witty, and is the greatest wag in college. He takes a high rank 
in his class. Moses will turn his brilliant talents to the study of 
medicine. Moulton has entered Andover Institution. Abbot 
had the first part. 

Peabody* dehvered a splendid poem ; Dorr, the Salutatory. 

*Rev. Epliraim Peabody, D.D., of Boston. 



80 MEMOIR OF S. S. FilRXTISS. 

We Lave had some prett}'' severe frosts liere, which did not, I 
suppose, reach to your latitude, and for a fortnight past I have 
enjoyed the comforts of a blazing fire. I assure you that I often, 
about nine o'clock in the evening, resting my feet over the fire- 
place, and my head on the back of my chair, recall the memory 
of the last winter evening we spent in college ; when, unconscious 
of the blessings we enjoyed, we talked of pleasure that we 
were to taste when emancipated from college walls. We have 
both of us found perfect happiness as far off as before. For 
my own part, I intend to make up my mind to take life as it is, 
and so drink down the bitter, as I would a dose of medicine, in 
one swallow, and have done with it, and let every drop of sweet 
dwell long on the tongue, as I would a draught t)f good Madeira. 
Hoping you have the same mind, and that you will find your 
cup but little diluted with the bitter, I bid you good night. 
Write me soon, and tell me all about your situation and pros- 
pects. Everything about yourself will be interesting. 

Yours, 

Wm. ArPLETON. 



FROM THE SAME TO THE SA3IE. 

Dehry, February"^, 1828. 
Deae CnuM : 

I received your letter this morning, and, I assure 

you, am well disposed to obey your injunctions to answer it 

immediately. I had begun to be a good deal troubled lest you 

should have met with some misfortune, or I had met with that 

of losing your remembrance and friendship. I had heard once 

that you had settled in Kentucky, but from your saying nothing 

of a temporary residence there, suppose I was misinformed. In 

the first X)lace, chum, I sincerely congratulate you on your good 

fortune, for though not exceedingly lucrative, your situation 

must be in every other respect very eligible. But you want to 

know about matters and things in this region, and I Avill proceed 

sans ceremonie., as Tutor Abbot would say, to tell yon. To begin 



DEATH OF APTHORP. 81 

with the personage of the most importance in his own eyes / 
am still in this Academy, receiving for my labors about tlie same 
compensation as you. I shall continue here six months at least. 
At the end of that time I may remain here, or resume law, or 
instruct somewhere else. Every day's observation serves to 
convince me that professional men, especially lawyers, in this 
quarter, must have uncommon talents to secure even a compe- 
tence. Scarcely any of our young lawyers are independent of 
their friends for the first years of their practice. I, of course, 
am desirous to secure this independence, and if the chances to a 
person of common capacity, of realizing a comfortable and tol- 
erably genteel support, are in favor of the Western States, they 
possibly may be my final destination. You, probably, feel some 
interest in the fate of our class. I will give you all the informa- 
tion I am master of. You, perhaps, have not heard of Apthorp's 
death. He died about two months since, of a very rapid con- 
sumption. He had been engaged as private tutor near Balti- 
more, and returned on account of his health, and died at home. 
I have understood him to be the fifth victim to that complaint, 
of the children of the family, and that one of his sisters is thought 
now in a decline. You and I shall remember him, for who 
more conduced to the enjoyment of our college hfe than he, by 
his wit and humor? 

Abbot, S.outhgatc, and Trask are in Audover Institution, I 
had a letter from Lord a few days since. He has engaged in 
mercantile pursuits ; says that Farrar is studying law in Phila- 
delphia, Paine in Portland, Granger and Leland in Saco. Cleave- 
land made me a visit of a day a few months since. Is now 
studying law in Xew York. Our friend Jonas is teaching school 
in Amherst, and succeeds uncommonly well. They think so 
highly of him, that they say they mean to build an Academy, 
and engage his services permanently. I suppose you are now 
in the very head-quarters of Jacksonisra, but as you as well as* 
I, have not much personal interest in the struggle, I trust 
you have not become very warm on the side of the " Hero." 
I understand that Bowdoin College goes on very quietly, with 
reduced numbers, it is true, but improved scholarship. This 

4* 



82 MEMOIR OF S. tf. PRENTISS. 

Academy will send two or three very fine scliolars there next 
Coramencement. I see by your letter that your affection for 
Spanish cigars remains imdiminished ; knowing that, I shall, at 
least twice a day (after dinner and supper), call to mind the 
pleasant hours we have spent together. We then railed at our 
lot — but, tliough Avere we to live that life again, we might know 
how to enjo}^ it more, and, I at least, improve it better ; yet it 
must be confessed that there were some few crumbs of comfort 
amidst all our troubles. T have felt the want of suitable books to 
read very much since leaving B. This place is as barren of them 
as any town I ever knew. The newspapers, among them the 
Farmer''s Cabinet^ which you will recollect, for its containing 
the story of the good woman, who blessed tlie Lord for nothing, 
constitute my soul resource against the blues. I saw Mac. 
some months since in Boston. He was in a law ofiice, and bad 
a treatise on Keal Actions in his hand, by chance, I suspect, for 
his table was covered with the same medley of newspapers, maga- 
zines, novels, and song books, as when he was in college ; the 
drawer as he showed me, was filled with pieces of old gloves, 
flints, pistols, gunlocks, cakes and apples. In short, everything 
about him was the same as when he was in college. He poetizes 

considerably, I believe. T is studying Diviaity in Hartford, 

Conn. If you continue to have any thoughts of actiug Cato's 
sohloquy with a butcher knife, I would advise you to act Mac- 
betVs first, and the first line, " Is this a dagger," &c., will cure 
you of any design of making your quietus with so vulgar an 
implement, compared with which a '' bare bodkin " would be 
genteel. As you are in the land of sporting and duels, I hope 
your excellence as a shot will be of service to you. I trust you 
will find smaller game plenty, however, and Avill not be under 
the necessity of firing at a larger mark, with the uncomfortable 
reflection that you yourself are at the same time a target. Now, 
chum, you see that I have answered your letter the day on 
which I received it, and that, too, Avith a closely written sheet 
of foolscap. As I have thus obeyed your Cf^mraands, I have, in 
my turn, a right to command you too. Sit down as soon as you 
have read this, (if you finish reading it), and tell me all about 



ALFRED MASOX. 83 

yourself, and wliatever else you please, in an epistle as long, at 
least, as tliis ; for certainly you have much more of the variety 
which makes letter- writing easy and letters interesting, than I 
enjoy in this quiet, sleepy place. 

Ever yours, 

Appleton. 



FROM TILE SAME TO THE SAME. 

Dekry, May 13, 1823. 

My Dear Prentiss: 

If I ma}' judge by my own feelings of impatience 
for receiving your letters, you will be glad to have an imme- 
diate answer to that which reached me this afternoon. 

Your answers to my inquiries only served to confirm me in 
ray former ideas of the comparative advantages and disadvan- 
tages of the Western States. I think I shall conclude to try my 
fortune among the Yankees, and if I don't succeed, it will then 
be time enough for me to visit the land of wealth, slaves, fevers 
and mosquitoes. I shall remain in my present situation at least 
three months longer, perhaps another year, and after bidding 
farewell to Academy walls, mean to renew my acquaintance 
with Blackstone and some other of our mutual friends. You 
will want to hear the news of this section of the country. I 
shall be rather at a loss to supply you, for my correspondent 
Lord, who is my most faithful chronicler on subjects of common 
interest to us, has not written to me for some time, and probably 
will not till I entitle myself to an epistle, by answering his last. 
One, to me, melancholy circumstance, you have not, perhaps 
been acquainted with. My cousin, Alfred Mason, died in New 
York not long since, of a fever which he caught in attending the 
patients in the hospital. I understand he was considered the 
first among three hundred medical students, as to professional 
talents. Several obituary notices of him have appeared. Among 
others, a very well written one, by George Pierce, in the Fort- 
land Advertiser. 



84 MEMOIR 01-^ S. S. PRENTISS, 

You say nothing of politics, but I suppose you are by this time 
a strong Jacksonian. Our political papers are quarrelling at a 
great rate. I make it a point of believing both sides, and conse- 
quently, have come to the conclusion that our politicians are a 
race of as mean, unprincipled scoundrels as ever polluted the 
earth ^xiih. their tread, or the air with their breath. I have 
fully made up my mind not to become a candidate for the Presi- 
dency, till the characters of the political men are purer, or the 
press less calumnious. I wish you to communicate these my 
sentiments to the Legislature of your State of Mississippi. 

I have a vacation in about a week, and although I have only 
been absent about ten weeks, I anticipate a visit home with no 
small pleasure. The consideration of so great a separation from 
my friends would weigb with me more strongly than any 
other, against going to the South, My attachment to my 
friends, I find, rather increases as I grow older. Bowdoin College 
goes on quietly, with a small number of students. I have not 
heard whether the Peucinian Society has decayed still more, 
or regained its former standing. Your recollections of your 
college life appear to be pleasing. I have none such, except 

the remembrance of our friendship. While at B , you railed 

most about the miseries of college life. I then tried to make 
myself believe that I enjoyed it, but the more I think of my 
situation then, the more convinced am I, that were I to live 
my college life over again, I should not only improve, but 
enjoy my time far better. I believe I am not naturally prone 
to indulge in unpleasant reminiscences, but, I feel every day 
the want of having formed habits of application and mental 
abstraction while my studies were directed by others, and I 
had nothing else to occupy my mind. But a truce to moral- 
izing. We have both of us seen letters written by students after 
finishing their college course, and I am not vain enough to 
suppose my own croaking more interesting than that of others. 
I wish to hear from you oftener than our practice of waiting for 
an answer will admit, and will suggest the plan of writing every 
other month. For instance, I shall write again on the first of 
July, and if you are willing, should like to have you pursue the 



GOOD ADVICE. 85 

same plan, that eacli may receive letters at intervals of every 
two months. 

My mode of life here is not unpleasant, as I have become 
acquainted with several agreeable families, and do ngt_feel, as 
much as I did at first, the want of some more agreeable com- 
panions than my own thoughts. 

The last time I heard of George Pierce, lie was about going 
into business with his brother Daniel — his health not allowing 
him to pursue his law studies. I think it must be rather 
unpleasant to him to be obhged to give up all his prospects of 
professional and literary eminence, though, probably, his business 
will not deter him from cultivating his literary taste. 

Goodnight; beware of paying homage to the climate by a 

fever. 

Ever yours, 

W. Appleton. 



FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. 

Derrt, N. H., July 30, 1828. 

My Dear CnuM: — 

I must begin with acknowledging myself very 
much to blame for not writing the first of this month, as I said 
I should ; I have had engagements suflicient to justify a want of 
punctuality in a common correspondence, but I acknowledge 
they should not have prevented me from doing my part in the 
execution of a plan which I first suggested. 

I am very sorry that you have made up your mind to be 
unhappy, and am also a little surprised, as I had supposed your 
situation tolerably pleasant as well as lucrative. TTould not you 
enjoy yourself better if you went into society more ? I, of course, 
know nothing of the state of things there, but although you may 
not find those to whom you can feel warmly attached, yet I 
hold that any society is better than none ; and that, even if a 
man were among the Hottentots, it were better for him, for the 
time being, to conform himself, in some degree, to their habits, 



86 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



and try to feel some interest in objects around him and within 
his reach, than to suffer himself to despond because he does not 
find everything to his mind. But in so large a place as Natchez, 
it is impossible but that by exertion you can find some agreeable 
acquaintance. There are two gentlemen from this State who, if 
report speaks true, are both uncommonly pleasant men — Dr. J. 
Bell, and Mr. Dinsmoor, a lawyer from a town adjoining this. 
If you are not already acquainted with them, I suppose it is not 
very difficult for Yankees to become acquainted with each 
other when so far from home. At any rate, chum, if you can- 
not find any society more pleasant than solitude, do not allow 
yourself to be low-spirited ; " send care to the dogs," as you said, 
in a former letter, you meant to do, and do not think because 
you have not realized all your expectations in this Southern 
'excursion, that your prospects for life must necessarily be blasted, 
and that all chance of future success or eminence is taken away. 
We neither of us are old enough to exclaim with Solomon, " all 
is vanity ;" and I cannot but believe that when you return to 
this quarter, which, I trust, will be very soon, you will attain 
that success to which your character and talents entitle you. If 
your health is not injured, I think you will, on the whole, find 
few reasons to regret having gone on your tour, for you are not 
so old as to render it absolutely necessary that you should enter 
on professional practice immediately ; and you have had oppor- 
tunities of seeing parts of the IJnion which otherwise, very pro- 
bably,- you would never have seen. I trust that you feel no more 
inconvenience from the heat of the summer than the debility 
which you mentioned. You, of course, feel the necessity of a great 
deal of care, and, with suitable attention to diet and exposure, I 
suppose the. climate may be prevented from seriously injuring 
the constitution. I trust if either of us is permitted, at some 
future time, to drop a tear over the other's grave, it will be 
when he has lain down to rest after a long, happy, and useful 
life, among friends who reciprocated his affection. 

I heard from Lord but a day or two since: he mentions 
having heard of you through Mr. Pierce of Gorham— he is 
engaged in business with his brother. Both Hilliards are in 
Mr, P 's office, as you probably know. 



BOWDOIN XEWS. 8T 

FaiTan has engaged in business with his brother in Bloomfield. 
In an excursion which I made into the interior of Massachusetts 
and Connecticut, a few weeks since, I saw McLellan, Eveleth, 
and Bridge, at Isorthampton. McLellan has applied himself a 
good deal, I understood, and took a very respectable rank in the 
Law School. At Hartford, Conn., I met Baldwin, who hap- 
pened to be in town ; he is studying divinity at ISTew Haven. 
He said Brinsmade was keeping school at a town in the western 
part of the State. David Shepley preached in Amherst during 
my last vacation. I was to-day informed that Stowe has been 
appointed Professor at Bowdoin College, and has accepted. I 
do not know what department he will take charge of. I still 
continue in the business of school-keeping, and shall, probably, 
another year. It is rather a gloomy prospect to look forward to, 
but I shall endeavor to submit to circumstances with as good 
grace as possible. 

You speak of doubting whether you shall pursue your legal 
studies. I trust you have no serious thoughts of discontinuing 
them; the law is the profession for yon, if any. I hope you will 
write me, in your next, that you are making your arrangements to 
return to New England, to finish your studies and enter on the 
practice. I cannot believe you have any serious thoughts of going 
to the countries of Spanish America, as you seem to have no fixed 
object in view. In New England a competence is ensured to 
but a moderate share of application and abilities, and a compe- 
tence in New England, I presume, you would think quite as 
desirable as a large fortune in those new republics, or even in the 
region where you now are. 

Let not my failure break up the plan which I suggested about 
our letters. I will write again within two months, and hope to 
hear again from you before that time. And now, chum, as my 
paper is growing scanty, I have only time again to recommend 
to you to take some measures for the ejection of the blues ; live 
as happily as you can while at Natchez, and come back to New 
England as soon as possible. 

Most truly your friend, 

Wm. Applbton. 



88 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



S. S. PRENTISS TO HIS MOTHER. 

Natchez, July 26, 1828. 

My Dear Mother: — 

Since I wrote you last, I have, rather imespectedly, 
made a considerable change in my engagements and situation. 
But you need not be alarmed — my move has been but a short 
one, and the change, I believe, for my advantage. I have left 
the family in which I resided, and taken an academy about eight 
miles from ISTatchez. When I made my former engagement, I 
reserved the privilege of avaihng myself of any better offer I 
might have. I had the offer of the academy about three weeks 
since, and immediately accepted it. I felt a good deal of regret 
at leaving Mrs. Shields — I had got to be so much one of the 
family that it seemed almost like leaving home again. I taught 
with Mrs. Shields between six and seven months. My salary 
for that time has enabled me to pay off all my debts and the 
money I borrowed from Mr. Wright. I have fifteen or twenty 
dollars left, and can now begin square again. 

How long I shall continue here I do not know. They Avould 
like to engage me permanently, but I have only engaged for a 
3-ear, and am doubtful whether I shall continue longer — I wish 
to finish my profession and conclude where to settle as soon as 
possible. 

Week before last I made a trip into the State of Lousiana to 
St. Francesville, about eighty miles from this place, partly for 
the sake of seeing the country, and partl}^ because I had heard 
there was a vacancy in a college near there, which I thought I 
might, possibly, obtain. I had been, however, misinformed, 
there being no vacancy in the college. St. Francesville is on 
the Mississippi Eiver; it is a pretty village, and situated iu an 
extremely fertile country — but is one of the most unhealthy 
places in the United States. I went on horseback, and was 
gone three days — during which time I rode two hundred miles; 
you may judge from this that my health is very good. I should 
liardly have been able to take such a ri(Je before I left Maine. 
Their saddle-horses here, however, are all pacers^ which makes 
it much less fatiguing — I v/ould not willingly undertake to ride 
our old Gray two hundred miles in the same time. 



ANECDOTES BY ONE OF HIS PUPILS. 89 

I am at present very Learty ; and, as some of the warmest 
•weather has passed, I am in hopes I shall get through the sum- 
mer without the tax which strangers are usually obliged to pay 
the first season. 

I have sent Wilham a Natchez paper, The Ariel, and would 
like to have him send me The Tanlcee, pubHshed in Portland, by 
John ISTeal. I wish you would write to me as often as once in 
three weeks. You know not what pleasure it affords me to 
hear from home. Give my love to all the children, and remem- 
ber me to my friends at the village, as well as elsewhere. 

Your very affectionate son, 

S. S. Peentiss. 



The following communication from one of his pupils, Joseph 
1). Shields, Esq., of Natchez, will be here in place : — 

As I was a mere child, while your brother resided in my 
mother's family, my own impressions of him as a teacher, are 
very indistinct. But I can give you a few incidents, illustrative 
of his character at that time, which may not be uninteresting to 
you. 

Not far from my mother's residence was a log school-house, 
where the gentry, and young men of the surrounding neighbor- 
hood, formed a Debating Society. In this woodland forum 
your brother gave abundant earnest of his future greatness as 
an orator. His speeches w^ere especially remarkable for their 
sprightliness, wit, and withering sarcasm. On one occasion, as 
an actor in the scene told me, his opponent in debate wa^ a 
vehement declaimer, whose thoughts, when at white heat, would 
so far outrun his words, that he generally became exceedingly 
confused. After speaking some time with much violence, he 
suddenly stopped while under full headway, threw up his hand, 
and clasping the back of his cranium, exclaimed: "Mr. Presi- 
dent, I've got the idea, sir, but I can't express it." "It is very 
well the gentleman has informed us," quietly retorted Prentiss, 
" or we never should have suspected it." 



90 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

Tlie old scbool-house has disappeared, and its last vestige been 
destroyed by the plough-share. 

While teaching, he was very temperate in his habits. Indeed, 
so far as I know, his habits were unexceptionable while he 
was at i^Tatchez. But on one occasion, he joined a party of 
young men, who rode into the city to dine. As usual, the juice 
of the grape mingled with the flow of soul, and, before the social, 
after-dinner converse was over, they all got somewhat merry. 
Mounting their horses, at rather a late hour, and having twelve 
miles to ride, they determined to make a dash of it, and thus 
save time. ITow, it so happened that Prentiss was mounted on 
a horse which had been raised for the tm% but not having ful- 
filled his destiny, had been degraded to a saddle nag. He retained, 
however, all the fire of the racing breed. Indeed the animal 
was a very Gunpowder of Ichabod memory, and had passed 
from his former owner to the Brora Bones of the neighbor- 
hood, in consequence of having unceremoniously immersed him 
in a duck pond. 

The jolly company started oS in full gallop, but had not tra- 
velled many hundred paces before Prentiss and Oscar (that was 
the name of the beast) darted on ahead, and were soon lost in 
the distance. The rest of the party finding pursuit useless, at 
length cooled down into a quiet pace, convinced that Oscar and his 
rider would, after a while, reappear. But as mile after mile lay 
behind them, and it was getting very dark, they began to feel 
somewhat uneasy, when of a sudden, they were hailed by that 
unmistakable voice, with its peculiar lisp — "Hallo, Boyths! 
hiallo! I say, Oscar has spilled me!" They approached through 
the darkness, and found him seated on a bank by the roadside. 
He had clung to his dare-devil steed as long as he could, and 
finally with great reluctance, " let him travel on alone." With 
no small effort, he was in due time mounted behind one of his com- 
rades, and the gay cavalcade made the best of their way home, 
quite charmed with the adventure. It were well had he, as 
second endorser^ never came oif worse in after life. 

He was always eager and impulsive. Soon after leaving our 
roof, he heard of a situation in Louisiana, and immediately went 
down to apply for it — while there, it all at once occurred to him 



NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN FRUITS. 91 

that a bosom friend was to make his debut in a Fourth of July- 
oration, at the old school-house. He had seventy or eighty- 
miles to travel, in order to be there, and only one day to " make 
the point." He ordered his horse at daylight, rode hard all day 
and reached ISTatchez late at night. Explaining to his host the 
necessity of his being at the celebration, which was some fifteen 
miles distant, he gave direction to be called up very early, but 
when he awoke the next morning, he perceived, to his chagrin, 
that the sun was far up in the heavens. Ordering his horse 
quickly as possible, he spurred, or rather caned him to the top 
of his speed, and reached the rostrum just as his friend got 
through his peroration. 



S. S. PRENTISS TO HIS SISTER ABBT. 

Natchez, September 24, 1S28. 
My Dear Sister: — 

I received, a few days since, your letter of July; 
and shall answer it with a great deal of pleasure — especially as 
it is the first one I have received from any of you, except William 
and mother. I am glad to heh,r that mother has recovered so 
much from her illness, and that all the rest of you are well. I, 
too, continue to enjoy an uncommon degree of health, and, if 
possible, am more hearty even than when I left home. As the 
sickly season has now pretty much elapsed, I have little fear for 
the present year. I am well satisfied with my new situation, 
and have had an addition of two scholars since I wrote last. 

I suppose apples are about getting ripe with you now. They 
do not thrive well here ; neither do cherries or plums ; but 
peaches and melons grow in abundance, and also the fig, a most 
delicious fruit, of which I am extremely fond. I wish I could 
send you a basket of them, I know you would like them. Wild 
grapes grow in profusion in the woods, and some of them are 
equal to our best plums. There are many kinds of fruit which 
we have not in the North ; but still I think those of the ITorth 
are preferable. 

I am glad you are so pleasantly situated at the village, and 



92 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

have so good a school to attend. You have improved very 
much in your handwriting : and the Tvatch-paper you sent me is 

quite a pretty one ; I shall keep it a long time. You say S 

talks of going to sea ; he had better try some other business ; go 
to a trade, or into a store. Encouragement for^ailors must be 
very poor, since the restrictions laid, last winter, by Congress, 
upon commerce. However, if he wishes, let him go one voyage, 

and he will soon be sick of a sailor's life. G , I suppose, 

does not begin to think yet what he shall do ; tell him to study 

hard. I must not forget A among the rest of you. You 

must write me again, and tell me all that is going on in the vil- 
lage. You will hear from me again in a few weeks ; in the 
meantime my kindest love to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

S. S. Peextiss. 



TO niS MOTHEE. 

Natchez, Kovember 18, 1828. 

My Dear Mother : — 

I have been in daily expectation, for a fortnight, 
of healing from you, and have delayed writing some days on 
that account. My wishes were gratified yesterday, by receiving 
a letter from you and sister Abby — whom I thank very kindly 
for writing me again. I need not assure you how glad I am to 
hear that you are recovering from your illness : the news of 
which had very much alarmed me. 

My school is going on well, but I am perfectly disgusted with 
the business of teaching ; it does not suit either my temper or 
disposition. Nothing would tempt me to make a profession of 
it. I shall, next fall, either return to Maine, or settle here as a 
lawyer. I have been somewhat doubtful on this subject : should I 
settle in this State, I have no doubt I could make a fortune with 
the greatest ease, and my friends here urge me very strongly to do 
it. But you know I never considered wealth as the most impor 
tant ingredient of happiness; perhaps I look upon it with too little 
regard. In every other respect I should far prefer the North to 



THINKS OF RETURNING NORTH. 93 

the South. The society is better, the country is more beautiful 
and, besides, you have, in the I^orth, no slaves — a strong objec- 
tion to the South. But yourself and the rest of my relatives 
and friends, afford a still more powerful inducement for me to 
return. All these considerations have determined me upon set- 
ting my face towards home next autumn. You will, perhaps, 
think I had much better have staid at home in the first place ; but I 
am of a different opinion, and were I at home now, would make 
the same trip again. I shall consider the two years that will 
have elapsed when I return, as far more profitably spent than 
any others in my life. I intend to return very leisurely through 
the interior of the Union, visiting whatever is curious or remark- 
able, so that when I get home I shall have made a pretty good 
tour of the United States. You must write me immediatelv, and 
tell me what you think of all these plans. 

I suppose your Thanksgiving will come on presently— if I 
were within a couple of hundred miles I would be with you. 
Next year you may have a few pies extra, for you know I am a 
tough hand among pumpkin pies, and it would be no wonder if 
I should pop in upon you about that time. It is growing late- 
Good night, and my love to you all. 

Your affectionate son, 

S. S. Peextiss. 



TO HIS BEOTHER WILLIAM. 

Natchez, February 4, 1S29. 

Dear Brothee : — 

You think, perhaps, that I have forgotten you, by 
my delaying to write so long beyond my usual time, but you 
will excuse my apparent neglect when I inform you of the rea- 
son. In my last letters, you will recollect, I had come to the 
determination to return, next autumn, to ISTew England. Upon 
more mature consideration, however, I am convinced that I 
should act very much against my interest ; and, though I had 
fondly cherished the idea that, in the course of a year, I should 



94 MEMOIR OF S, S. PRENTISS. 

revisit the spot which will always be to me dearer than any 
other, yet I think you will agree with me that it is my duty to 
remain liere..- Since I wrote last, I have been making more par- 
ticular inquiries than I had before done, with respect to my 
prospects, should I continue here a few years ; and I find them 
far superior to anything the North can hold out. By studying 
this winter, I can be admitted to practice next July — whereas, 
in Maine, I should be obliged to study more than a year. I 
have, accordingly, given up my school, and am in a law-oflQce in 
the city. The gentleman with whom I am studying, is a Mr. 
Walker — the first lawyer in the place; he has promised me 
every assistance in getting a start. I have money enough to 
support me, with prudence, till I get into practice — and I have 
no fear of success after the first year. I have been several 
weeks in doubt on this subject ; and the reason I have delayed 
writing was, that I might inform you, with certainty, of the 
result. Be assured that my feelings tow^ards home have under- 
gone no alteration, and my determination is as strong as ever to 
come back to Maine. Should I collect a little wealth, I know 
nothing in the world that would aftord me such pleasure as to 
return and share it with my friends. 

Your affectionate brother, 

S. S. P. 



TO niS BEOTHEP. WILLIAM. 

Natchez, A2:)ril 9, 1829. 

Dear Bkothee: — 

I have been from town for the last month, which 
is the reason I did not receive your letter until yesterday, and 
is also my excuse for not writing sooner. As I have nothing 
else worth relating, I will give you some description of the trip 
I have been making. One of the young Shieldses purchased a 
sugar plantation in Louisiana, about thirty or forty miles south- 
west of New Orleans,— upon a bayou, or stream, called De 
Arbonne — and, going down a month since to settle it, persuaded 



A FRENCH SETTLEMENT^ IN LOUISIANA. 95 

me to accompauy him. We started from this place in a flat- 
boat, and proceeded down the Mississippi to the bayou La Fourche, 
which took us about six days. We entered the bayou at a small 
town called Donaldsonville, and proceeded down some sixty 
miles to another village, called Thibodeauxville— where we 
landed, took horses, and rode twenty-five miles to Shields's 
place. Tliis part of the State has just begun to be settled by 
the Americans. It ]jad been considered of httle account till 
witljin a few years; when, upon examination, it was found to 
contain tlie best sugar lands in the United States, and perhaps 
in the world. It has, however, been settled for some time, by 
the French — and even at present, they form at least nine-tenths 
of the population. They are the poorest, most ignorant, set of 
beings you ever saw — without the least enterprise or industry. 
They raise only a little corn and a few sweet potatoes — merely 
sufficient to support life ; yet they seem perfectly contented and 
happy, and have balls almost every day — I attended one, and 
was invited to several others. 

The lands here lie in a very carious manner. There are a 
great number of creeks, or bayous, as they are called, running up 
from the ocean, parallel to each other. Upon each of these is a 
strip of high land, from one to ten acres in depth, on either side, 
after which it falls into a swamp, and so continues till you come 
to another bayou ; thus, between every two bayous tliere is an 
extensive swamp. I stayed with Shields four or five days, and 
then returned to the La Fourche, where I took a steamboat to 
ISTew Orleans, I stayed in New Orleans three or foar days, and 
never was so heartily tired of a place in my life. I saw nothing 
worthy of observation, except the immense quantity of business, 
and that was truly astonishing. I tried to find out if there were 
anv vessels from Portland, but could hear of none. Taking a 
steamboat at ITew Orleans, I arrived yesterday at Natchez, well 
pleased with my trip. 

Month after next I shall apply for admission, and commence 
the practice of law. My sincerest love to mother and to all the 
children. 

Believe me your affectionate brother, 

S. S. P. 



96 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

Mr. Shields thus refers to this trip : — 

Another instance of his impulsiveness occurs to me. The same 
friend, whose Fourth of July oration he made such effort to 
hear, moved about this time from the homestead. Taking his 
stock and other movables to ISTatchez, he shipped them on a 

flat-boat. There are two landings at K , and after loading at 

the upper, he cast off and drifted to the lower. Prentiss was 
on the boat to take his leave, and accompanied her this short 
distance. Just as they were again casting off, and in the act of 
bidding adieu, his friend suggested. 

"Prentiss, suppose you go down with us and enjoy the varie- 
ties?" 

"But, my dear sir, I've no clothes." 

" Oh, never mind that, we'll supply you." 

After a little persuasion he consented, and left for an indefinite 
trip without money and without clothes. I rather fancy that 
what with cattle, sheep, hogs, horses, and fowl, to say nothing of. 
dogs or cats, he had about the roughest fare on that "broad- 
horn" that he ever endured. Still it was probably the most 
delightful trip he ever took. His friendship with the captain and 
chief mate, gave him the run of the kitchen, while every incon- 
venience was the subject of jest and merriment. He was the 
light and soul of the party. 

I have recently heard an amusing anecdote of this expedition, 
which is as follows : — 

You are aware that our Father of Waters is a most head- 
strong and gyratory stream. Instead of flowing on smoothly, 
like other rivers, it rolls and tumbles in all directions ; while its 
eddies are a terror to the small craft, that depend for progress 
upon a regular current. If caught, they sometimes revolve for 
days in an orbit of a few hundred yards. It unluckily happened 
that the broad-horn aforesaid, became involved in one of 
these eddies. Round and round it circled, hour after hour, in 
spite of the efforts of an able-bodied crew, to extricate it from 
the snare. Of course all hands were ordered by the captain, who 
was a per.-on of indomitable energy, to man the oars, and when 



NERVING HIMSELF FOR AN EMERGENCY. 9t 

the boat veered to the edge, to give " a long push, a strong push, 
aud a push all together."" But in the midst of all their activity, 
Prentiss kept his seat, and jeered the crew. In vain they begged 
him to come to the rescue ; no persuasion could induce him to 
lend a helping hand. Every volley of jocular abuse from the 
captain, was replied to by a volley of sharp raillery from his 
imperturbable passenger. To all entreaties he returned a 
characteristic answer. "Come, come, Prentiss, for heaven's sake, 
do now help us just a little, will you?" 

" Can't do it, Boyths, Pm saving myself for an emergency!" 
After a hard struggle, the rim of the miniature maelstrom was 
weathered, and the boat floated out into the current. 

A day or two after this incident, there occurred a storm so 
violent that the party tied up to the bank. The weather was 
intensely cold for our southern climate, aud they huddled around 
the fire on board." In the midst of the hilarity aroused by the 
novelty of their situation, and the amusing incidents of their 
voyage, the crew were startled b}^ the cry of fire I fire I The 
hoaVs afire ! Every man sprang to his feet and rushed for the 
water buckets, except Prentiss. He scrambled to the side of the 
vessel, tumbled overboard, seized his hat in lieu of a bucket, 
and began to pitch the water into the flames, nearly extinguish- 
ing them before the rest of the party reached the scene of action. 
He was warmly congratulated on his quickness and presence of 
mind. PuflSng and blowing from his sudden exertions, draggled 
with wet, and with a dripping, starchless hat, he replied to the 
thanks that were showered upon him, with his inimitable arch- 
ness, " There ! boyths, didn't I tell you I was reserving myself 
for an emergency!" 

Many are the stories of his wit and humor, after the party 
reached their destination. The country at that time was a 
wilderness, skirted along the margin of the bayou, by settle- 
ments of Canadian French, and yet Prentiss's friend, as is usual 
with emigrants to a new home, was infatuated with the region. 
He had described it as a second Eldorado, blending the glory of 
the tropic with the mildness of the temperate zone. It yielded 
the sweet cane and the orange, and abounded in all manner of 

5 



98 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

tropical fruits. Such was the pictuj-e of the country. But when 
they arrived at the Golden Valley, things did not look so invit- 
ing by a great deal. Big timber, mud cottages, lagoons, Spanish 
moss, the concert of alligators, frogs and musquitoes — these and 
congenial phenomena, afforded Prentiss an inexhaustible theme 
for raillery, and he improved it without mercy. Yet his satire 
was so good-humored, as well as keen, that it gave Infinite 
amusement to his companions. 

" My dear sir," he exclaimed to his friend, " you've moved to 
a country that's afloat. It ought to be sawed off with a whip- 
saw, and pulled out to sea. It abounds in all manner of tropical 
fruits, indeed ! I see an abundance of 'bladcberries.'''' 

His friend was one day praising the morals of the community, 
and boasted they did not require a jail ; there was none in the 
country. " Perhaps so, but then this very fact may prove that 
the rascals are in the majority^ and won't build one." 

I give you the above, at second-hand. Of the numberless bright 
and witty sayings, that sparkled from his lips, but few are pre- 
served. They were jewels cast upon the waters of oblivion, and 
have sunk to the bottom — you may recover one here and there, 
from the memory of a friend, or the tradition of an observer, 
like myself, but not enough, I fear, to give any adequate idea of 
the richness of the mine from whence they emanated. 



S. S. PEENTISS TO HIS SISTER ABBT. 

Natchez, May 31, 1829. 

My Dear Sister :--- 

I have sat down this Sunday morning, while you 
are all preparing, I suppose, for church, and intend to give you 
a long letter. I have been studying pretty hard of late, prepar- 
ing for examination. Candidates for admission are examined 
at the Supreme Court, which sits next week at Monticello — a 
town about eighty miles from Natchez, in the interior of the 
State. I shall go out on horseback a week from next Wednes- 



A TALK ABOUT HOME. 99 

day ; so that, I presume, by the time yon read tMs letter I shall 
liave a lawful right to the title of "Esquire." I shall leave 
Natchez immediately after, and settle, probably, at Port Gibson 
— a flourishing village some forty miles above this place. It is 
ii very pleasant town, and not visited by the yellow fever. The 
■winter and spring have been uncommonly cold in this country, 
till within a few days, but now the weather is excessively warm. 
I have no news to tell you : my health continues good, and my 
spirits arc also pretty good. But now let us talk a little about 
home — which is a much more interesting subject to me than 
any other. How do you all do ? And how do all the good 
people at the village ? Though it has been almost two years 
since I left you, yet it seems but yesterday. Everything is fresh 
in my recollection ; I know how all the houses and yards and 
trees stand ; and if I should return to-morrow, I could tell in a 
moment every alteration that had taken place, even to the 
nailing-on of a shingle. Two years seem very long in looking for- 
ward, but are as a moment when recalled from the past. I am 
afraid, however, by the time I return, some years hence, things 
will be greatly changed. !My old acquaintances will have grown 
up, and left the country. The girls I used to play and romp 

with, will all be married and hardly recollect me ; W will 

have taken to himself a wife ; S will be a stout, careless 

sailor, with a short jacket on ; G , a shrewd, calculating, 

good-looking, young fellow ; you, my dear, will be a tall, hand- 
some, grave, young lady; A , a roguish, laughing, giddy- 

lieaded girl ; as for mother, I shall know her immediately — sho 
will always look the same to me. You do not write half often 
enough from home : I should like to have a letter every fort- 
night — and if you would take turns, you might write as often as 
that without any trouble. You are not half particular enough 
when you write — you ought to tell me every little thing that 
happens in the family. And now, my dear sister, I have written 
you a long letter, and I am sorry it is done, for it is a great plea- 
sure to write home. My love to you all. 

Your very affectionate brother, 

S. S. Prentiss. 



100 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

In a letter to his elder brother, dated June 18, he writes ; 

I found no difficulty in passing the examination and obtaining 
the license. Yesterday I returned to town. Monti cello is one 
hundred miles east of this, upon Pearl River. I am now a law- 
yer, but how I shall succeed is a doubtful question. The pros- 
pect, I confess, is rather dull, even here — the profession being 
very much crowded. However, if I can make out to get a start, 
I have no doubt I shall ultimately succeed. 

With respect to your idea of emigrating to this country, I 
hardly know what to say. There are few sorts of business 
which a young man can go into, unless he has capital. He will 
have to obtain a clerkship, or a situation as a schoolmaster. It 
is extremely difficult to obtain the more lucrative clerkships, on 
account of the great number of young men who yearly come 
down the river, from the Western country, in search of business. I 
vv^ould have you to consider carefully before you take so important 
a step, whether you cannot make a good living, and enjoy as 
much happiness in Maine as anywhere else. I confess, too, I 
should be sorry on mother's account, as well as the children's, 
that you should leave home. Still, if you are bent on emigrat- 
ing, I would not discourage you, and I do not doubt you will 
succeed in the end. However, if I was myself in Maine, with 
my present experience, I would not leave it. - 



TO niS MOTHER. 

Natchez, June 24, 1S29. 
My Dear Mother: 

I have made an arrangement of considerable impor- 
tance, for the ensuing year — and, as I think it is a very good 
one, I have sat down immediately to inform you of it ; for I 
know you feel more interest than any one else in the world in my 
welfare. I have entered into a partnership with Mr. Huston* — 
a lawyer in this place, of high standing and extensive practice. 
I am to have a sufficient portion of the profits of the business to 
support me handsomely, and defray my expenses of every kind. 

* Gen. Felix Huston. 



LETTERS. 101 

Next year, in all probability, I shall be able to continue with 
him on much more favorable terms. But the great advantage 
of the thing is, that I shall gain more knowledge of business this 
year, tlian I should in two or three years, had I started by myself. 
Mr. Huston has a plantation in the country ; so that, if there 
should be an epidemic this summer, I shall have a place to retreat 
to. 

I have seen no people here whom I ever saw before, with the 
exception of my classmate, Boyd.* But I frequently meet with 
Yanlcees^ who are much more numerous here than I had sup- 
posed : quite often, too, I see individuals from Maine. A large 
portion of the men are emigrants ; they are very enterprising — 
but associate little with each other, except in the way of busi- 
ness. Self is here the sole object — each one being entirely 
absorbed in his own views, and caring little or nothing for his 
neighbor. As to the women here — their general character is, 
that of being extremely reserved and distant in their manners, 
especially to strangers. But I am ashamed to say that I know 
very little about them. You inquire about churches — there are 
in this town, a Presbyterian, an Episcopal, a Eoman Catholic, a 
Baptist, and Methodist church. They are pretty well attended, 
and the sabbath is kept here very near as strictly as in Portland. 
I attend sometimes the Presbyterian, and sometimes the Episco- 
pal, service. 

"With regard to sending brother G to West Point, I am 

decidedly in favor of it. It will afford him the opportunity of 
getting a good education, without the expenses incident to a 
college ; for, if I recollect right, the cadets are not only found, 
but receive twenty or thirty dollars per month pay. It is not 
absolutely necessary that a young man should go into the army 

after being at West Point ; but still, if G goes there at all, 

he ought to make up his mind for the army and a soldier's life. 
That is the purpose for which the Institution was founded, and 
I do not think it right for a young man to avail himself of the 
advantages of it, unless he intends to pursue a military course. 

I , - — » 

* S. S. Boyd, Esq., of Natchez. 



102 MEMOIR OF S. S. TRENTTSS. 

My dear mother, you have not written me lately, nor have 
the girls. They must write me frequently, and tell me what 
they are studying-, the news of the village, and all that kind of 
matter. Do you keep a cow and the old horse ? I shall expect 
a letter now in a few days, as I have not received one for three 
or four weeks. My love to all the children. 

Your affectionate son, 

S. S. Peektiss. 

His correspondence during the next year affords no inci- 
dents worthy of note. He was much gratified, in the course 
of the winter, by a visit from his elder brother, which seems 
to have revived his desire to return and settle in Maine — 
for his letters breathe an unusually home-sick feeling. He 
occasionally alludes to his labors and speeches in court ; 
never saying mOre of the latter, however, than that he 
"believed they did pretty well." 

There are many persons in Mississippi, who retain a 
vivid recollection of his personal appearance and forensic 
efforts at this period. " I have his j^icture in my parlor," 
writes Judge Wilkinson, of Yazoo City, after his death. " It 
is like him, but it is not like him as I first saw him. I well 
remember the impression he produced upon me, twenty 
years ago, when he entered the hotel at ^N; atchez, as I sat 
by the fire, an entire stranger to every one. I had never 
heard of S. S. Prentiss, and saw many strangers every hour 
in the day. I did not hear him sjDcak — and he was gone in 
a moment — but there was a light in his face that I had 
never seen in any other, and which prompted me to inquire 
who he was, from the keeper of the hotel. ' A young lawyer 
just called to the Bar,' said he. Little did I dream of the 
relation in which we were afterwards to stand to each other !" 

" His never-failing readiness and self-possession are well 
exemplified in an anecdote I have often heard, of his first 
appearance at the bar. The Judge who_ presided, and the 



ANECDOTE OF HIS FIRST APPEARANCE AT THE BAR. 103 

names of the parties, I have never ascertained. The locality- 
was Brandon, a small inland town, ten miles from Jackson, 
in the very backwoods of the State at the time the incident 
occurred. He was a slight-made, beardless boy, extremely 
youthful looking, by no means physically imposing, and a 
stranger to all at the court. It was a case he was appear- 
ing in for Mr. Huston ; and when it was called, he respon- 
ded to it, and stated the nature of the case, and that it 
stood on demurrer to some part of the proceedings which 
he desired to argue. The Judge, with some nonchalance, 
told him he did not wish to hear argument on the subject, 
as he had made up his mind adversely to the side Mr. 
Prentiss appeared for ; upon this, Mr. P. modestly, but 
firmly, insisted on his client's constitutional right to be 
heard, by himself or counsel, before his cause was adjudged 
against him. The right was recognized — and he was heard, 
and made a speech that astonished both court and bystand- 
ers : and the Judge, to his honor be it spoken, was not 
only convinced of the error of his previous opinion, but had 
the manliness to acknowledge it. Few young men, in a 
strange place, with a cause prejudged and the decision 
announced, would have so boldly asserted and maintained 
their client's rights."* 

TO HIS MOTHER. 

Natchez, July 11, 1830. 

My Dear Mother: — 

Before this time, I suppose William has got home, 
and I almost envy him the pleasure whicii he must experience 
on seeing you all again ; even after his short absence. You 
may judge from his pleasure, how great mine would he to visit 
home, from which I have been absent now something like three 
years. It has been a very long period ; though it takes but a 

* Wm. C. Smedes, Esq. 



104 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTISS. 



moment to carry me back in imagination to the day when I left 
you, and started off in the wagon, with my lai-ge trunk and still 
larger expectations. I hope before three years have again 
elapsed, I shall be with you ; on a visit, at least. I sent by 
William, some little presents to the children, which, though not 
of much value, I know they will receive with pleasure, as 
coming from their brother. To George I sent the watch^ 
which I had when I left home. To Abby, a small diamond 
finger ring, and to Anna a work-bo^, with a number of little 
articles in it ; of which, however^ she will know the use better 
than I. 

My first year at my profession has just closed, during which 
time I have been able to support myself, and also, to pay my 
debts, so I am now just about square with the world. I have 
to-day arranged with my partner, the terms on which Ave are 
to continue together. He offers me one-third of the business, 
which I shall accept. 

If my success answers my expectations, I shall feel it my 
duty to continue here some years — though my inclinations 
strongly urge me to go home, and settle in my native land. 

I see by G.'s letter, that he feels an inclination to go to col- 
lege. If he continues of that mind, I should advise letting him 
go, by all means. It will take him one or two years to prepare, 
and by that time, I think, I shall be able to assist him. If 1 am, 
I will most assuredly do it with the greatest pleasure, for I hold 
a good education to be worth a thousand times more than it 
costs. Tell him to think seriously on the subject, and to 
write me about it. — My love to all. 

Your affectionate son, 

S. S. Peentiss. 



TO HIS YOTNGEE BROTHEE. 

Natchez, Sept. 22, ISSO, 

Dear George: — 

I received, with a great deal of pleasure, your let- 
ter, and hasten to answer it. I should have written before this. 



A MOTHERLY FRIEND. 105 

but I have been absent for the last three weeks, on a trip to 
the Eastern part of the State. I have been out to Columbia, 
on Pearl River, where there are some Springs, to which the 
people resort in the warm season, for recreation and pleasure. I 
went on horseback, and more for the sake of the exercise than 
anything else ; I did not enjoy myself, however, as much as I 
expected ; for I was alone, and the country through which I 
passed is extremely uninteresting. The Eastern section of this 
Slate, after you get twenty or thirty miles from the Mississippi 
iiiver, is one continued Pine-Barren, precisely like the plains, 
uix)n which we used to go blueberrying, and indeed, the country 
continues of the same sort, entirely through to the Atlantic 
Ocean. You may judge, then, how dull it must be, travelling 
through such a region. I found but few people at the Springs, 
and stayed there only a week. The exercise, ho^yever, was of 
very great advantage to me, and I am now as hearty as I ever 
was in my life. 

*I have also spent a good deal of the summer out at Mr. 
Huston's, or rather his mother-in-law's, plantation. By the 
by, I do not know as I have ever mentioned her to you. 
She is one of the finest old ladies in the world, and treats me 
with all the kindness of a mother. Tell mother, if I should 
ever happen to be sick, I should receive almost as much 
attention and kindness as I possibly could at home. 

I am glad you take such pleasure in your studies, and in 
reading. You could read nothing more advantageous to you 
than liistory. It would be well also to read some biography — 
more especially, the lives of the great men of our own country 
— TVashington, Eranklin, &c. It will raise your ambition, and 
show you what can be done through industry and exertion, by 
those whose advantages have not been as good as your own. 

I approve of your studying the languages, and fitting your- 
self for college. J hope that by the time you are fitted, I 
shall be able to assist you; if I am, I shall certainly do it 
with pleasure. 

Tell William, that if he comes to New Orleans, as he pro- 
poses, I will probably come down and see him next winter. 

5* 



106 MEMOIR 0^ S. S. PRExNTISS. 

My best love to mother, and to all of you, especially to Samuel, 
whom I wish to write me immediately. 

Your affectionate brother, 

S. S. Peextiss. 



TO HIS MOTHER. 

Natchez, ITov. 10, 1S30. 

Dear ITothee: — 

I intended my next letter for Samuel ; but Abby 
informs me, that he expected to sail for Europe in two or three 
weeks, so that he is probably gone by this time. I can truly 
sympathize with your feelings upon parting again with Wilham, 
and I can assure you, that your regret at the absence of your 
children cannot be greater than what is felt by oue of them, 
at least, on being so far separated from you and the rest of 
his friends. Indeed, so far from becoming reconciled to a 
residence in the South, or forgetful of my native land, I 
become every day more tired of the former, and look back with 
more regret to the latter. Still I feel bound to stay here, 
though I am sometimes almost sorry that my prospects of 
success render it my duty to do so — and I do not think I 
should have at all regretted it, had my ill-fortune compelled 
me to return to Maine. I expect daily to hear from William, as 
he must, by this time, have arrived in ISTew Orleans. I shall 
take some leisure week during the winter, and go down and visit 
him. It is only a couple of days' trip. I have enjoyed excel- 
lent health this summer, much better than I did last. K'atchez 
has also been free from epidemic this season, and extremely 
health}'. 

I have, for the last tAvo or three week?, been riding about 
the circuit, winch must be my apology for not writing sooner. 
Tell Abby, I thank her very kindly for her letter; she must 
soon write me again, so must xVnna and George. I wish G. to 
write me a full account of his studies — how far he has advanced, 
and what occupies liim at present. 



HIS VIEWS OF SLAVERY AT THIS TIME. 10 1 

Give my respects to all my friends, especially to Mr. Pierce 
and family. My love to yourself and the children. I shall 
expect a letter from you soon. 

Your affectionate son, 

S. S. Peextiss. 



TO niS TOTTNGEST BROTHEE. 

Natchez, July 25, 1S31. 
Deae Beothee: — 

I received your letter of May last more than a 
month since, but, as I was indebted to Abby for a letter, I 
wrote her first, and will now proceed to answer yoars. 

I have nothing new to tell you concerning myself. My health 
continues good. Business is at, present very dull— as, indeed, 
it always is at this season of the year. If I was within a him- 
dred, or two hundred miles of home, I should soon mount my 
horse, and be with you. 

You ask me about the slaves in this country— how they are 
treated, &c. That slavery is a great evil, there can be no doubt 
—and it is an unfortunate circumstance that it was ever intro- 
duced into this, or any other country. At present, however, it 
is a necessary evil, and I do not think admits of a remedy. But 
the situation of slaves— at least in this State— is not half as bad 
as it is represented, and believed to be, in the Korth. They are 
in -eneral, as far as my observation extends, well clothed, well 
fedt and kindly treated— and, I suspect, fully as happy as their 
masters Indeed, I have no question, that their situation is 
much preferable to that of the free negroes, who infest the 
Northern cities. To be sure, there are, occasionally, men who 
treat their slaves cruelly and inhumanly-but they are not coun- 
tenanced by society, and their conduct is as much reprobated as 
it would be anvwhere else. To free the slaves, and let them 
continue in the United States, would not, in my opinion, be any 
advantage to them ; though if they could be transported to 
Africa again, it would be better. But that is impossible on 
account of their numbers-and even if they were all offered the 



108 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

privilege of going to Africa, I do not believe half of tliem would 
accept it. The sin of the business lies at the doors of those who 
first introduced slavery into the country. The evil now is too 
deep-rooted to be eradicated. 

As for the Indians, about whom you inquire, I think they 
have been badly treated in this State, and still worse in Georgia. 
Their lands have been taken from them without law or justice ; 
and they will, most of them, have to go west of the Mississippi. 
However, this is not a new thing, but has taken place at one 
time and another in almost every State in the Union. The 
fact is, " Might makes Riglit^'' all the world over. 

I did intend to write you something about your studies, but 
must defer it to another time. My love to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

S. S. Peextiss. 

The rest of his correspondence, in 1831, contains little 
that would interest the reader, thou2:h overflowino; with 
expressions of filial and fraternal affection. The education 
of his sisters and his youngest brother, began now more 
and more to occupy his thoughts, and serve as a stimulus 
to his exertions. Almost every letter shows his solicitude 
upon the subject. On the question of his ultimate place 
of settlement, his mind still wavered ; sometimes he ''felt 
very home-sick, more so than he did the first year after 
leaving Maine, and was tempted to throw up his business, 
and come back there to live ;" then, in the event of 
remaining South, he was almost determined to remove to 
New Orleans; but, towards the close of 1831, he finally 
resolved to establish himself at Yicksburg. 



TOASTING PATH TO GREATNESS. 109 



CHAPTER Y. 

Essay on Toasting — Removes to Vicksburg — Mr. Chilton's Reminiscences of llim — 
Letters Home — Visits Washington City — Advice to a College Student — Fotms a 
Partnership with Mr. Guion — Letters. 

^T. 22—24. 1832—1833. 

While at Natchez he continued to cultivate, with much 
dihgence, his literary taste. He read almost every new 
book that appeared ; and occasionally occupied a leisure 
hour by writing articles, in prose or verse, for the local 
journals. Some of his poetical effusions, particularly one 
entitled The Ice Palace, yet live in the recollection of his 
friends in the Southwest ; but we have not been so fortun- 
ate as to procure any of them. The only specimen of his 
prose that has fallen in our way, is a sportive essay on 
Toasting, from which the following passages are extracted : 

Perhaps the most remarkable property of Toasting, is its won- 
derful facility in making great men. It was the ancient opinion — 
though one which has been long exploded — that to be great, a 
man must have performed some great, virtuous, or noble action, 
must have shown, either mentally or physically, some superiority 
over his fellow-beings. iRow, thank heaven, nothing of this sort 
Is required ; for the whole secret of greatness is comprised in the 
single word notoriety ; and the most approved method of 
becoming notorious is by Toasting. Does a man wish to become 
notorious — that is, great : — he gets a friend to propose his health 
at some public dinner, with an enumeration of all the good 
qualities he does not possess. The people, filled almost to burst- 



110 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

ing with the fat things prepared for theni, overflowing with 
cliarity and good liquor, drink the health with great applause ; 
which is elicited, however, in most cases, not by the person, but 
by the flavor of the wine. Fired by such manifest signs of 
popular favor, the candidate for greatness rises, and assures 
them, very truly, that they are pleased to honor him more than 
he deserves ; that modesty would induce him to be silent, but 
his heart ( he had better say his stomach) is too full for restraint; 
that no sacrifice would be too great for their kindness towards 
]«im; that he would go even to Congress, for the love he bears 
his country; he assures them that the United States is the 
greatest nation on the globe — his own State the first in the 
Union — the county in which they are eating the best in the 
State — at the same time modestly insinuating that he is himself 
the greatest man in the county — and, finally, winds up by pro- 
posing himself a candidate for the next election. The people 
are astonished to find they have had so great a man amongst 
them, without ever dreaming of it ; and they send him to Con- 
gress forthwith. Thus sure and easy is the Toasting path to 
greatness. 

The god Momus found fault with Jupiter for not placing a 
window in the heart of man ; which would have enabled one, 
merely by looking in at it, to have ascertained a person's 
character as well at first sight, as after a dozen years' acquain- 
tance. Mankind have sanctioned the criticism of the heathen 
deity; as is manifested by the great pains they are contin- 
ually taking for finding out the real sentiments of their fellow- 
beings. It is to their anxiety on this subject, that we owe the 
various theories which have, from time to time, been broached 
for discovering a man's character by outward signs or appear- 
ances. Thus Lavater considered the features, and the various 
and complex lines upon the countenance, as the true handwriting 
of Nature, which she hath aflixed as a label upon the face — 
precisely as an apothecary marks upon a vial the nature of its 
contents. Within a few years, Craniology has been made to 
answer the purpose of the window of Momus ; and the human 
head, like the United States, is divided ofl" into a number of 
independent bumps, which have, however, a reciprocal influence 



CRAXIOLOGY AND A REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT. Ill 

upon each other. The character of each of these bumps is as 
well ascertained, as that of 'the people of any of the aforesaid 
States, and the cliaracter of the individual is made up by a com- 
pound of them all — each bump being taxed for this purpose just 
in proportion to its bigness. Now, although it is a digression, I 
cannot help observing, what a wonderful argument this system 
affords in favor of a rdf^ublican form of government, showing 
that Nature herself has chosen it as the best, in her arrangment 
of the human mind. Take an example: Suppose that, like 
honest Jack Falstaff, my bump of discretion exceeds my bump 
of valor, and that some one insults me; the community of 
courage, residing in the bump of valor, is immediately enraged, 
and rises in arms to punish the aggressor : but, " Stop," cry the 
cautious, though more numerous, citizens of the commonwealth 
of discretion, " Most haughty Yalor, we don't choose to be 
dragged into this contest — if you wish to fight, you must fight it 
out alone: for ourselves, we have advised with counsel, and 
intend taking the law of the fellow." At this remonstrance, 
the community of courage lay down their arms, like good 
citizens, obedient to the will of the majority. But to return. 
Though I have great belief in physiognomy, and though I doubt 
not that the rapid development of intellect may force out cor- 
responding protuberances of the cranium, just as we see moun- 
tains arise on the face of the globe by the operation of internal 
fir^ jet both these theories are so liable to error, the exceptions 
to the general rule are so numerous, that I have been led to try 
some other method of getting out a man's true character. I 
have found nothing answer this purpose as well as his toasts. 
At such times caution is entirely off its guard ; the Cerberus 
reason is quieted with a sop. The sentiments, finding them- 
selves unwatched, fly out as surely as birds from an opened 
cage.- It is under the jovial influence of good liquor, that the 
words of scripture are peculiarly verified : out of the abundance 
of the heart the mouth spealceth. Take a few examples, by way 
of illustration of my theory : " The star-spangled banner, oh, 
long may it wave," &c. Now, who doubts for a moment that 
the author of this is a young poet ? I don't know him, but I'll 
lay anything he has made at least one line towards the comple- 



112 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS, 

tion of an epic. " The sliip United States, with her present 
commander and crew ; all ready for sale (sail)," by a pohtical 
punster ; one of those inveterate perpetrators who, even if he 
was going to the gallows, would ask why hangmen are like 
physicians, merely that he might answer, because they both kill 
their subjects by drops. "The Island of Cuba — -justice to our- 
selves requires that we should take immediate possession 
thereof." JSTow I will venture to say, that this man has no 
character at all; but I perceive from his toast that he is an old 
smoker, and he wishes us to appropriate Cuba to ourselves, 
because he thinks it would lessen the price of Spanish cigars. 

His four years in Natchez and its vicinity, laid the founda- 
tion for some of the strongest friendships of bis life. iSTo 
portion of the Southwest contained at this time a social cir- 
cle of greater intelligence, or refinement. There was, to be 
sure, not a little of the' ignorant, pretentious, aristocracy of 
mere wealth ; and this was to him a never-failing subject of 
ridicule. But there was also the aristocracy of cultivated 
minds and manners ; the offspring . of leisure, travel, and 
liberal pursuits. One might ge^ fp^Defore finding a more 
generous, hospitable, and high-tdn^nSt^ding than that 
which distinguished not a few of the families, ^then resident 
in and about JSTatchez. He often revisited . tMaji:^^Jjj|gpot, 
his first home in the Southwest, and never withoiuiSjSing 
greeted by the warm affections and admiration of a host 
of old friends 



TO n IS MOTHEE. 

Natcuez, January C, 1S32. 

My Deae Mothee: — 

You will be surprised to hear that I intend to 
leave this place. I shall remove to Yicksburg, the last of this 
month. Yicksburg is about a hundred miles above tJiis, on 
the Mississippi River. It is a flourishing town, nearly as large 
as Natchez, nnd much superior for bnsinpss. Mntohez has 



HIS ARRIVAL AT VICKSBURG. 113 

been declining in business for many years, althongL. 1 have 
done as well as I could have expected ; yet I do not think 
the prospect here sufficiently flattering, to induce me to make it 
any longer my place of residence. Yicksburg is situated in the 
midst of a rich and flourishing couutr}^, and is increasing rapidly 
in wealth and population. 

I have deliberated a long time on this matter, but did not 
wish to mention it in my letters, till I had fully made up my 
mind. I have had serious thoughts of returning to Maine, but 
the competition there, in my profession, is so great, and the pro- 
spect of success so small, that I am deterred — at least for the 
present — from leaving Mississippi. 

My pfesent movement shall not, if I can help it, prevent my 
coming home next summer. Still I wish yon not to be too 
sanguine. 

"We have, for the last two, or three weeks^ experienced some 
of the coldest weather ever known in this country. I think I 
suffered as much as I ever did in the North. The ground was 
covered with snow for a fortnight, and it looked quite like old 

times. 

Your affectionate son, 

S. S. Peextiss. 

The following reminiscences are from the pen of John 
M. Chilton, Esq. of Kew Orleans, long a distinguished 
member of the Yicksburg Bar :— ' 

"In the year 1831, pending a Circuit Court at Yicksburg, 
then almost a frontier town, there arrived with other members 
of the bar, from Natchez, a limping youth in plain garb, but in 
whose bearing there was a manly, indeed, almost a haughty 
mien ; in whose cheek a rich glow, telling the influence of more 
Northern climes, in whose eye a keen but meditative expression, 
and in whose voice and conversation a vivacity and originality 
that attracted every one, and drew around him, wherever he 
appeared, a knot of listeners, whose curiosity invariably yielded, 
in a few moments, to admiration and delight. There was then 
a buzz of inquiry, succeeded by a pleased look of friendly 



114 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

recognition, and a closer approach, and in most instances an 
introduction, to the object of this general attraction so soon as 
it was told, that the stranger was S. S. Peextiss, of Natchez. 
His fame had preceded him, and men were surprised to see only 
beardless youth in one whose speeches and learning, and wit, 
and fine social qualities, had already rendered him at Xatchez, 
' the observed, of all ohservers.'' He was at once taken by the 
hand, and attracted by the brilliant rewards then promised in 
our courts to lawyers of genius and eloquence, he determined 
on adopting Vicksburg as his home. 

His first appearance at the Bar, at once fixed public opinion 
in his favor. The case was one involving the power of the cor- 
poration to cut off by quarantine, a public hotel from all inter- 
course with the rest of the town. The hotel stood alone on a 
square, and was infested wdth the small pox. The Mayor and 
Council had passed an ordinance forbidding all persons out of it 
from going to it, and all persons in it, from coming out of it. 
Without any previous notice or preparation, except the exami- 
nation of testimony. Me. Peextiss spoke for two hours, and by an 
argument replete with metaphor, satire, and logic, he gained his 
cause and induced an immediate repeal of the obnoxious ordinance. 

Some time after this, at a political meeting, he was called on 
by the Anti-Jackson men, then a sad minority — in presence of a 
large number of the dominant party, to address the people. 
Democracy was then everywhere prevalent, and the word of 
General Jackson conside^'ed as binding as the Koran — his will a 
rule of action — his name too sacred to be uttered without a 
blessing. Mr. P. boldly " broke ground " against Martin 
Van Buren, the adviser of General Jackson, and subsequently 
■his nominee for the Presidency. I shall never forget the intense 
excitement produced by his speech on this occasion. It was to 
the Anti -Jackson men as inspiriting and effective as General 
Taylor's order at Buena Vista — '"'• a little more grape^ Captain 
Bragg .^" He described General Jackson's influence over the 
multitude — his nomination of Martin Van Buren, whom he 
represented as 

" Albany, with feeble hand " receiving, 
" Borrowed truncheon of command ;" 



/ 



AN ANTI-JACKSON SPEECH. 115 

and the violation of our Constitution in thus virtually transfer- 
ring the appointing and elective power from the people to one 
man, and that man at once their idol and despot. He then pro- 
phetically depicted the effects of such unbounded executive 
influence in the utter prostration of the coordinate departments 
of the Government. The personal difficulty between General 
Jackson and Mr. Calhoun, growing out of the refusal of the 
latter to associate with the family of the Secretary of War, had 
just occurred. The first Cabinet had been dispersed to yield to 
a ' unit.' That unit was Martin Yan Buren ! In allusion to 
Mr. Van Buren's surnitor-sMp^ (if I may so call it,) Mr. 
P, exclaimed : " "While the stately and gallant vessels, which 
braved the battle and the storm, have been wholly wrecked, the 
cockle-boat of Martin Van Buren has risen, cork-like, secui-ely 
above the waves, and floated safely into the port of Democratic 
favor." 

In allusion to the merit then claimed for Mr. Van Buren, of 
having settled, while minister to England, the question of Great 
Britain's right of search, he exclaimed : "I thought this 
question had been settled years ago, by the war of 1812, and 
that even the American sailor boy, seated at the mast-head, if 
asked by a Briton whether such right existed, would point to 
the cannon's mouth, and say indignantly — ' Go, take your 
answer thence !' The manner of this exclamation gave to it a 
marvelous force, and even his political adversaries forgot, in the 
nationality of the sentiment, the bitterness of partisans, and 
united in the acclamations of applause, which it produced." 



S. S. PEENTISS TO HIS MOTHEE. 

ViCKSBUKGn, March 16, 1832. 
My Dear Mother: — 

I'll lay anything you can't guess who has been to, 

see me since I wrote you last. I was sitting in my office the 

other morning, and who should pop in but S. I knew 

him immediately — though he was in his sailor's dress, and has 

grown greatly since I saw him. He looks well, and is in good 

health and spirits too, considering he had, when he arrived here, 



116 - MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

but one dollar in the world. He does not seem to mind it at ail, 
and says it is not the first time he has been without both clothes 
and money. It was well, however, he found me at home ; for 
this is a bad country for a man to be in without -money. For- 
tunately I had some, which I divided with him ; and after stay- 
ing with me three days, he started again, last night, for "New 
Orleans. He appears to be rather sick of a sailor's life, and 
will, I think, quit it. 

I am very glad to hear that Abby has recovered her health, 
so that she can attend school again. Tell her that when she 
gets to Portland, she must become a regular correspondent of 
mine, and write me all that is going on in the city ; andAnna 
can take up the home-department, and tell me what occurs, of 
great importance in the busy little village of Gorham. I pledge 
myself to answer all their letters regularly. 

I have got some business already, and think it will increase. 
It is easy to make money in this country ; but the expenses are 
so enormous, they eat up one's money as fast as it accumulates. 

If George is well prepared.to enter the Sophomore Class this 
fall, let him do so ; I think it a great disadvantage to enter two 
years in advance. He is, however, young, and unless well pre- 
pared — not only in his Greek and Latin, but in his English 
studies — had better put it off another year. I am confident I 
entered college too young ; had I been two years older, I should "^^ 
have derived double the advantage. Tell G. to write .me \ 

fuUy his own views and wishes on the subject. I wish he 
would take two or three dollars out of the enclosed, and send 
me one of the Portland papers, say the Advertiser^ or any Clay 
paper. My love to you all. 

Your affectionate son, 

S. S. Peentiss. 



TO HIS SISTEE ABBY. 

ViCKSBURG, September 17, 1S32. 

My Dear Sistee: — 

I almost envied brother TTilliam the happiness 
which he must have felt in being again in the midst of you. It 



/ 



AN IMAGINAKY VISIT HOME. lit 

13 impossible for you to imagine the feelings which a long resi- 
dence among strangers — people for whom you care nothing, and 
wlio care nothing for you — produces in one's mind towards 
home and the scenes of youth. Frequently I sit down in my 
office, after a fatiguing day's work, or a fit of the "blues," and 
get rid of the whole of them by paying a visit to you all at 
Gorham. It is the easiest thing in the world — it does not take 
me more than a second to go from Yicksburg there. After I 
get there, I seat myself among you, and look around to see what 
changes five years have produced in you all. I see mother sit- 
ting beside me, with, perhaps, a few more of the marks of age 
than when I left, but ift other respects the same — with the same 
gentle and kind look which she always turned towards me, 
even Avhen reproving me for some idle scrape, or foolish act. 
There, too, I see sister Abby, shot up from a fair-^haired little 
girl, to a tall, handsome, demure-looking, young lady — and 
thinking, for aught I know to the contrary, which of half-a- 
dozen beaux she likes best. And who is this laughing, romping, 
bright-eyed girl, who looks so full of fun and mischief? I 
think, as near as I recollect, it must be sister A. Brother G. 
I recognize in a minute — ^for he has got his books, and is study- 
ing as soberly as a deacon. Have you heard yet from S. ? 
I have not, and cannot conceive what has become of him. I 
suppose you are at Portland yet. Write me often, and tell me 
what studies you are pursuing ; are you taking lessons in music 
and painting ? 

My love and kindest wishes to you all. 

Your aftectionate brother, 

S. S. Peextiss. 



TO THE SAME. 

ViCKSBUKG, November 11, 1832. 
Deae Abby : — 

I was gratified, a day or two since, in receiving a 
letter from you. I have just heard, too, from George, and per- 
ceive that he is pleased with college. He is to room, it seems. 



118 MEMOIR OF S. S, PRENTISS. 

with Eeuben IsTason ; that will do very well. By the by, when 
you see Mr. J^Tason remember me to him, wifeh my best respects. 
Tell him I have not forgotten, nor ever shall, my old preceptor 
— under whose instructions I acquired a great portion of the 
information which I possess ; and which, slight as it is, I would 
not exchange for a fortune. He always treated me kindly, and 
I never shall forget it. 

I am gratified, my dear sister, that you have the inclina- 
tion and the opportunity to improve your mind, to acquire 
those accomplishments, which will not only greatly increase 
your own means of enjoyment, but what is equally valuable, 
enable you to add much to the happiness of those with whom 
you may associate in after-hfe. There is nothing which w^ould 
afford me more pleasure, or of which I should feel prouder^ than 
to see my sisters accomplished and well educated : not merely 
accomplished in appearance, and in a few superficial acquire- 
ments, but with well cultivated intellects — capable of conversing 
upon, and understanding, the ordinary occurrences of the world, 
and conversant — to some extent, at least — with the history of the 
planet upon which they live. I have known very accomijlulied 
young ladies, who did not know whether the earth was flat or 
round — whether the government under which they lived, was 
monarchical or repubhcan. Such, however, I have no fear of 
finding my sister Abby. 

Since I wrote last, we have had the cholera in Yicksburg. I 
did not leave town, nor have I had any reason to regret it. My 
health has been, and still continues good. It broke out very 
suddenly and very violently; most of the people fled— but I 
thought it about as safe to remain in town, where I could get 
medical assistance immediately, in case I was taken. There is 
not danger if medical aid is obtained in time — ^but half-an-hour's 
delay may be fatal. It is a terrible disease. I saw persons 
walking about the streets perfectly well, that were corpses in 
two or three hours afterwards. Only two or three respectable 
citizens died — most of the deaths being among the negroes and 
transient persons. It is raging awfully in New Orleans. They 
are dying at the rate of three hundi-ed a-day. Here it is all 



1 

THE CHOLERA. 119 

over now ; so mother need not be uneasy. My love to you all. 
"Write soon. "* 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



TO HIS BROTHER "WILLIAM, AT XEW TOEK. 

YiCKSBURG, November 18, 1832, 
DexVe Beothee : — 

Since I wrote you last we have had a pretty 
severe touch of the cholera in this place, but it has now left us 
entirely. There has been no new case for a week or more. It 
prevailed here about ten days, more severely than at any other 
place of the same size I. have heard from. Most of the inhabi- 
tants, hoVever, were panic-struck, and fled to the country. 
There were not more than two or three hundred left. There 
were about seventy cases, and about twenty-five or thirty deaths, 
besides a large number of deaths from steamboats. I did not 
leave town during its prevalence. I thought it was about as 
safe to stay here. I did not care much about it any how. 
I had none of the symptoms of the disease, and was never in 
better health in my life. 

We are on the tip-toe to hear the result of the Presiden- 
tial election — ^but I fear there is no chance of defeating Old 
Hickory. Louisiana has gone for Jackson ; Kentucky, however, 
has redeemed herself, and gone for Clay by a large majority. 

We are now waiting, with the utmost anxiety, to hear from 
your great State of New York. Pennsylvania, I fear, has gone 
for Jackson. 

I received your letter a few days since, and am extremely 
sorry, I assure you, to hear that you have suffered so much from 
the effects of the cholera on business. I trust by the next time 
you write, your prospects will be better. Business here is, also, 
very dull at present. 

Washington Irving passed down the other day. He stopped 
here a few hours. I was much pleased with him. 

"Write me again soon, and believe me 

Your affectionate brother, 

S. S. Peentiss. 



120 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



TO HIS SISTEE ABBT. 

Washington Cixr, February 3, 1833. 
Deae Sistee : — 

I wrote to mother a few days since, informing her 
of my arrival in this place, and promising, before I left, to write 
to you. It is with pleasure that I redeem my promise. I 
expect to leave in a day or two, though it is somewhat uncer- 
tain, inasmuch as I have not yet finally arranged the business 
on which I came. That business, as I mentioned in mother's 
letter, relates to some land-claims. I shall get away this week 
certainly — for I am heartily tired of the place, and extremely 
anxious to return to Mississippi. It was a sacrifice to me to 
leave my business there, but I thought it would also be of great 
advantage to spend a few weeks at the Federal City, and 
become acquainted with the principal men from the difi'erent 
quarters of the "Union. 

And now, I suppose, you will wish to know how I am 
pleased with the Metropolis of the "United States, and the people 
and things that are therein. On the whole, I have been 
extremely disappointed. Washington City is not half so hand- 
some or pleasant a place as Portland. The houses are very 
ordinary, and scattered over so large an extent of ground, that 
it gives the city quite a desolate appearance — as if there had 
been a great many fires in it. I was not, however, disappointed 
in the Capitol. It is a most magnificent edifice, and is the only 
building I have ever seen, which answers fully to the descrip- 
tions of palaces that we read of in novels and story-books. 

The President's House — or, as it is generally called, the 
White House — is also a fine looking building ; but is by no means 
so splendidly furnished as I expected. I had read so much 
about it in the papers, that I thought I should see an oriental 
palace— but on the contrary, most of the rooms are so plainly 
furnished as to appear rather desolate and gloomy. 

I visited the White House in company with one of the Sena- 
tors from Mississippi; and was introduced by him to the 
President, with whom we chatted about fifteen minutes. 
General Jackson is an old looking man, and answers very well 



HIS OPIXIOX OF GREAT MEN. 121 

to the prints you see of him in the shops. I think him about 
as fit to be President of the United States as I am. But I ought 
not to talk so — for, for aught I know to the contrary, you and 
A. may, both of you, be " Jackson men^'' and then I have got 
myself into a pretty scrape ! 

I have seen nearly all the great men of the nation, and have 
become acquainted with some of them. Hereafter I shall have 
a much less opinion of great men. They are by no means so 
much superior to the rest of mankind, as they are apt to imagine. 
You have no idea how destitute of talent more than one-half 
the Members of Congress are ; nine out of ten of your ordinary 
acquaintance are fully equal to them. There are, however, 
some truly great men here — among the foremost of whom are 
Webster, Clay, and Calhoun ; I consider these the three most 
talented men in the nation. 

I am glad to hear that W, will be married in the spring ; 
I think it will increase his happiness. If he marries Angelina 

H , he will marry an excellent girl, and I know of no one 

whom I should be more pleased with as a sister-in-law. She is 
an old friend of mine ; you must remember me to her with mv 
best respects. My love to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



TO niS MOTHEE. 

VrcKSBTOC, March 30, 1833. 

My Deae Mothee: 

More than the usual delay has occurred since I 
wrote last; but, in fact, I have just got home— having been 
<letained more than twice as long as I expected. I did not leave 
Washington City till the first of March, although I was in daily 
expectation of leaving for three or four weeks before that time. 

I believe I told you my business there. I was employed to 
argue a case in the Supreme Court, and for more than three 
weeks I attended the Court every day, expecting to get it tried. 

6 



122 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

I succeeded at last ; and Lad the honor of addressing their 
Honors the Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States. 
I made a speech three or four hours long ; and I suppose you 
will say, I have acquired a great deal of brass since I left home, 
when I tell vou I was not at all abashed or alarmed in address- 
ing so grave a set of men.'^ 

Had I had any idea of being detained so long, you would have 
seen me at home ; but I did not dare to leave Washington for fear 
the case would come on in my absence. I ought to have got 
back here more than a month ago, and the consequence is that 
my business has suffered materially. Having been very careless 
in the collection of my fees, I have lost a good deal the past 
winter by thefailu7'e of several individuals, who owed me con- 
siderable sums of money. I fear, therefore, I shall be compelled 
to disappoint you — but still more, myself^ — of my expected trip 
home this summer. I could sit down and cry about it, like a 
child, if it would do any good. 

April 17. 

I have just returned from attending court about forty miles in 
the interior, and have to start to-morrow to attend another still 
further distant. "We have no stages here, and I go to all these 
courts on horseback. I think nothing of riding fifty miles a day. 
I ride a great deal, and have no doubt it has contributed much 
to my health, while use has made it a very pleasant exercise. 

I hope you will not think hard of my having again disap- 
pointed you in the visit, which we all anticipated with so much 
pleasure. Indeed you must not ; for that would double my 
regret, which is great enough already. It is not any want of 
affection for you all, but the desire I feel to assist my brothers 
and sisters, that has induced me to forego, for another year, the 
delight of coming home. And I well recollect that one of the 



* " When young in years and young as a lawyer, he appeared before the 
Supreme Court of the United States, and his pleadings, in spite of his youthful fire 
and highly-wrought fancy, were so happily fortified by deep reading and deep 
tliought, as to instantly attract the notice of Chief Justice Marshall, and call forth 
from that master-mind involuntary praise." — T. B. Tho7'2Je''8 Reminiscences^ 
Whig Review, 1851. 



RIDES THROUGH A SWAMP. 123 

last injunctions of my dear father, just before his death, wa3 
that I should assist the children ; and he seemed to have a con-^ 
fidence that I should, one day, be able to do so. My love to you 
all, and don't forget to write often. 

Your affectionate son, 

Seaegext. 



TO HIS B E T n E E AV I L L I A M . 

YiCKSBURG, Api'U 30, 1S33. 

Deae "William: — 

I have just returned from attending the Circuit. 
I have been gone ever since 1 wrote you last, and have had a 
pretty rough time of it. I have been east of Pearl River. I 
travel entirely on horseback, and have had to swim on my 
horse, over creeks and bayous that would astonish your northern 
people, whose roads are all turnpiked. Beyond Pearl River, I 
had to ride, and repeatedly to swim, through a swamp four miles 
in extent, in which the water was all the time up to the horse's 
belly. What do you think of that for a lawyer's life ? It would 
kill your iTew York cockneys in a week. To these hard rides I 
attribute, as much as to any other cause, the excellent health 
which I have always enjoyed. 

The cholera has appeared again in Js'ew Orleans, and all 
along the Mississippi. The boats are full of it, and we have 
had several cases here. I feel, however, no apprehension on the 
subject. I hope you will not have it again in New York, as it 
bore so hardly on you last year. 

Mr. Huston will be in New Y^ork by the time this letter 
reaches there. He passed up the river the other day ; I intended 
to have written you by him, but did not see him when he passed 
here. I wish you would find him out, and he can tell you all 
about me. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



/ 



124 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



TO THE SAME . 

ViCKSBORQ, June 24, 1888. 

Deae Beothek : — 

I have just returned from spending several weeks at 
Natchez, and much to my gratification found a letter from you 
awaiting me in the post-office. The cholera has been raging here 
to a horrible extent. Every place on the river has suffered more 
or less, and not only on the river but for many miles in the inte- 
rior, the disease has prevailed so as wholly to depopulate many 
plantations ; scarcely one has escaped without some loss. In fact, 
the ravages of this terrible epidemic have been much more exten- 
sive than they were last year, and God knows when or where 
they will stop. I see the disease is travelling north, and is 
already desolating the interior of Kentucky and Tennessee, and 
before long, you must, have it again at the East. — I would 
advise you by all means, to regulate your business under the 
supposition that you will have it among you this summer. 

I have reason to congratulate myself upon my escape so 
far without even the slightest premonitory symptoms. I waa 
never in better health. 

I am glad you opened y®ur mind to me so freely on the subject 
of your marriage. I agree pei'fectly with you ; I believe there 
is no situation in which marriage is not an advantage to a man, 
even in a pecuniary point of view, without mentioniug the incalcu- 
lable increase of happiness which must result from a well-assorted 
match. My candid and reasonable advice is, marry, and you 
may rest assured tliat such a union as you will form, can never 
impede your success, or advancement in tlie world. I am sorry 

to hear of Captain H.'s death. Remember me to A , when 

you see her. 

At present business has entirely ceased with us here. Goods 
are rotting on the merchants' shelves for want of buyers. Books 
sometimes sell here in the winter, but would not sell at all at 
any other season. Law Books sell very high in this country, 
but they must be the latest editions. 



QUANTITY OF KNOWLEDGE NOT POWER. 125 

I am alarmed about S., since the cholera has appeared on 
the river. Take care of yourself, if it comes among you. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



TO HIS YOUNGEST BEOTHEE. 

ViCKSBURG, August 9, 1833. 

Deae Geoege : — 

I am gratified to find you are pleased with College, 
and properly appreciate its advantages. Let me particularly 
recommend to you to cultivate, as much as possible, your powers 
of elocution, for which the society you belong to, will afford 
ample opportunity. By this, I mean the faculty of debating ; 
of expressing your own ideas in the best and most effective 
manner. 

This attainment is to every man of the utmost importance. 
It is no less than the power of iising his other attainments, 
for of what advantage is information, unless one is able to convey 
it and show the world that one possesses it? Indeed, my obser- 
vation of mankind has convinced me, that success in life depends 
not so much upon the actual quantity of knowledge, which a 
man possesses, as upon the skill and facility with which he is 
enabled to bring it to bear upon the affairs in which he may be 
engaged. This is particularly true with regard to great men. 
Their greatness consists less in the extent of their knowledge than 
in the way in which they use it. There are hundreds, perhaps 
thousands, of men in the United States, who exceed Henry Clay, 
in information on all subjects; but his superiority consists in 
the power and odroitness with which he brings his informa- 
tion to bear. I would again press before any other acquisition, 
that of expressing forcibly and with ease any idea, which the 
mind may entertain. This faculty is attained with difficulty in 
after hfe, but with ease in youth, at College, and nowhere so 
well as in the Debating Societies of such Institutions. 



126 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS: 

TO niS MOTHER. 

ViCKSBURG, Aug. 27, 1833. 

My Dear Mother : — 

Though I have nothing new to tell you, I believe 
it is about time to write you according to my usual custom. But 
were it not that you assure me to the contrary, I should expect 
you to have become heartily tired of the frequency and dullness 
of my letters. 

I am glad you are reconciled to the disappointment in regard 
to my visit this summer ; for I assure you I have suffered as 
much regret on your account as on my own, and that is by no 
means small. 

I start to-morrow to attend the Courts of several counties in 
the interior of the State. I go on horseback, and shall have a 
long but healthy ride of it before I get back. I suppose I shall 
have to ride altogether at least 250 miles, so you see a lawyer's 
life in this country is by no means a lazy one. 

Since I wrote last, I have formed a partnership in the practice 
of my profession, with a gentleman of the name of Guion.* He 
is a good lawyer and a very excellent man. He has been for 
many years practising in this place. The partnership is a plea- 
sant one, and. I think will prove advantageous to me. 

Your anxiety about S., cannot be greater than mine. Still, 
I cannot think anything has befallen him. If so, we must 
some of us have heard of it. An acquaintance of mine is just 
going from this place to St. Louis, and he has promised me that 
he will make a thorough inquiry about him ; and if he has been at 
St. Louis at all, I think I cannot fail of getting information. If 
I cannot learn something shortly, I shall go up to St. Louis 
myself, for the purpose of ascertaining his fate. As I said before, 
I cannot believe any accident has befallen him, notwithstanding 
his long silence. 

My own impression is, that he must have joined one of those 
trading or hunting companies, that are continually leaving St. 



*IIoo. John I. Guion. 



LETTERS. 



12^: 



Louis, and are frequently absent two or three years at a time, in 

the Far AVest. 

You ask me, my dear mother, my sentiments on the subject 
of rehgion. I hardly know what answer to make you. I cannot 
pretend to say tlmt I have experienced any change on that sub- 
ject since I left home. I trust the pious manner in which I was 
educated, and the excellent examples, which I had in my parent?, 
of the value of religion, will induce me never to look upon it 
otherwise than with respect and reverence. In all its great 
principles, I also trust, I have implicit behef. I confess that with 
regard to what is called conversion, I never well understood 
it So far as religion teaches us to do good, and to abstain from 
evil, I acknowledge its excellence, and hope I am not entirely 
without its influence; but the distinction of sects, and the 
necessity of belonging to any one of them, as well as a great 
many of the abstract articles of belief--considered essential 
by some denominations, by others not— are all beyond 
my comnrehension. If I am wrong, it is from want of under- 
standing'and not from willfulness. Whatever may be my notions 
on this matter, however, I trust the time will never come, when 
I shall be forgotten in the prayers of my mother. My love to 

you all. 

Your affectionate son, 

SEAEGE^'T. 



TO HIS SISTEE ANNA. 

ViCKSBTjEG, Dec. 22, 1833. 



Dear Sister: — 

In gratitude for your kind letter, of Nov. 18th, 
which I have just received, I shall make you my correspondent 
this time. Your letter both pained and gratified me. I was 
deeply alarmed, as you may well suppose, to hear that our dear 
mother had been suffering from so severe an illness ; but my 



128 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

joy was also very great to learn, at the same time, that all dan- 
ger was over, I am very glad you did not write me till yon 
could give me the good news with the bad ; for I should have 
suffered more than I can express, at the idea of even a possi- 
bility of losing a parent, whom we all have such reason to love. 
If the very thought of such an event makes me tremble, what 
would the reality be? 

And you too, mj sweet sister, have been ill, but you must 
not be so any more. I shall take it very unkind of you, if you 
are — you know I have never been sick, nor caused you any 
alarm on that score. 

However, your epistle is so sprightly and good-humored, that 
I cannot think the fine spirits which it exhibits can be accom- 
panied by very bad health. If you are as sprightly and amusing Ib 
conversation as you are in letter-writing, I imagine there will be a 
noisy house, when we meet, and it will require all our sober and 
demure sister Abby's authority to keep us quiet. And then we 
shall have such delightful quarrels ; indeed I have one with you 
now, and won't wait till I see you. 

What! you think to put me oif with some old maid, do 
you? ITow I can tell you, that when I get to be rich (which I 
mean to be one of these days), and own a cotton plantation, 
and all that— the youngest and prettiest of your girls will jump 
at the chance of marrying — not your poor brother Seargent 
— ^but his fortune. You girls, are all very romantic when you 
talh about love and marriage ; but when you came to act on the 
subject, you can have as sharp an eye for the " main eTiance '* 
as any of us, mercenary men. There, now, I think I have 
thrown down the gauntlet, and I have no doubt you will take 
it up and belabor me well for what you will call my vile slander. 
But, dear me! I am writing a very simple letter, and haven't 
room enough left to redeem my character in — I must, therefore^ 
to use a professional phrase, " throw myself upon the mercy of 
the Court," and if you punish me at all, do it by writing a letter 
equally simple. But good by. God bless you all. 

Your aifectionate brother, 

Seaegeistt. 



THE SOUTHWEST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO. 



129 



CHAPTER YI. 

The Southwest a Quarter of a Century ago-Hostile Meeting with Gen. Foote- 
Frequency of Duels in Mississippi at that time-Lord Bacon's Opinion of this 
" Desperate Evil," its Causes and Cure-Letters Home-Rapid Increase of 
Business-Recollections of him when riding the Circuit-A Night's Imprison- 
ment—Eulogy on Lafayette. 

/Ex. 24— 2G. 1833—1835. 

The Southwest, tweuty-five or thirty years ago, was a 
country very dififereut from what it now is. The emigrant 
character of a large part of the population, the adven- 
turous spirit of the new-comers, most of whom were 
young men in quest of fortune, the absence of many of those 
restraining influences and domestic habits which mark an 
old established community, the sharp competitions of busi- 
ness and professional rivalries, almost wholly unchecked by 
previous acquaintance or familiar ties of friendship and 
kindred— these, with similar causes, naturally engendered a 
peculiar and anomalous state of society. Every man stood 
on the arena of life, alone and unpropped ; his sole armor 
was his own native strength of will, courage and intellectual 
prowess. If be lacked either mental or physical nerve, the 
gate of fortune seemed barred against him. This was, no 
doubt, a severe school both for the trial and development 
of individual character ; but it was a school which few 
could pass through, even successfully, without learning 
much of evil as well as of good. 

The vices which usually infest such a condition of society, 

6* 



130 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

were not wanting here ; intemperance,* skepticism, profane- 
ness, gambling, and fashionable dissipation — not to speak 

* In reference to the drinking habits of society in Mississippi, at this time, a few pas- 
sages may be cited to advantage, from a highly interesting article, communicated to 
the Boston Medical Journal, of 1S53, by Dr. Cartwright, a veteran physician of the 
Southwest. Nothing could be more instructive, or impressive, than such statistics. 

" The writer is one of three physicians, who located in Natchez thirty years ago. 
The new-comers found only one practitioner in the city belonging to the same 
temperance school with themselves. Tlie country and villages, within fifteen miles 
around, afforded only three more. All the rest believed in the hygienic virtues of 
alcoholic drinks, and taught that doctrine by precept and example. Besides the 
pi-actising physicians, there were ten others in the city and adjacent country, who 
had retired from the profession. They were all temperate. Thus, including the 
new-comers, the total number of temperance physicians, in and near Natchez, 
thirty years ago, consisted of seventeen. Of these, five have died: Dr. Henry 
Tooley, aged about seventy-five years ; Dr. Andrew M'Creary, aged seventy ; Dr. 
J. Kerr, sixty ; Dr. Wm. Dunbar, sixty ; Dr. James A. McPheeters, forty-nine. In 
1S23, the average ages of the seventeen was about thirty-four years. According to 
the Carlisle Tables of Mortality, and those of tlie Equitable Insurance Company of 
London, seven, instead of five, would have been the ratio of mortality in England. 
Those at present living are, Drs. D. Lattimore, W. Wren, Stephen Duncan, James 
Metcalf, W. N. Mercer, G. W. Grant, J. Sanderson, Benjamin F. Young, T. G. Elliott, 
Phoenix, Professor A. P. Merrill, and the writer. 

" On the other hand, every physician of Natchez and its vicinity, thirty years ago, 
whether practising or retired, who was in the habit of tippling, as the practice of 
drinking alcoholic beverages is called, has long since been numbered with the dead ! 
Only two of them, who were comparatively temperate, lived to be grey. Their 
average term of life did not exceed thirty-five years ; and the average term of life 
of those who were in the habit of taking alcoholic drinks frequently between meals 
and in an empty stomach, did not reach thirty years. In less than ten years after 
they commenced practice, the most of them died, and the whole of them have sub- 
sequently fallen, leaving not one behind in city, country, or village, within twenty 
miles around. 

" To fill the places of those who died or retired from the profession, sixty-two 
medical men settled in Natchez and its vicinity, between the years 1824 and 1835, 
embracing a period of ten years ; not counting those of 1823, already mentioned. 
Of the sixty-two new-comers, thirty-seven were temperate, and twenty-five used 
alcoholic beverages between meals, though not often to the extent of producing 
intoxication. Of the thirty-seven who trusted to the hygienic virtues of Nature's 
beverage — plain, unadulterated water — nine have died, and twenty-eight are living. 
Of the twenty-five who trusted to the supposed hygienic virtues of ardent spirits, all 
are dead, except three ! and they have removed to distant parts of the country. 
Peace be to their ashes! Though mostly noble fellows, misled by the deceitful 
syren, singing the praises of alcoholic drinks, to live too fast, and to be cut off in 
the outset of useful manhood, it is to be hoped they have not lived in vain ; as by 
their sacrifice science has gained additional and important proof of the fallacy of 
the theory which attributes health-preserving properties, in a Southern climate, to 
alcoholic beverages in any shape or form." 



THE SOUTHWEST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AOO. 131 

nov/ of duelling — were sadly prevalent. It would be a 
great volume, written within and without with lamentation, 
whicli should record all the melancholy and tragical ends to 
which young men of finest promise— the pride and hope of 
some of the best families in the country— were brought by 
reason, of these enemies : and such a story, if faithfully and 
candidly told, would, perhaps, often call forth our pity 
and charity quite as strongly as our moral censure. In 
truth, the temptations which beset a young man of talents, 
wit and companionable temper, in Mississippi, twenty-five 
or thirty years ago— especially if he came from the North, 
and was unprotected by high religious principle— were like 
a burning fiery furnace ; one can only marvel that anybody 
escaped. The free and habitual use of intoxicating drinks 
was at that time, to be sure, pretty general throughout the 
country ; but gambling, and a profane disregard of the 
sabbath,=i^ public worship, and other institutions of Christian 
society, were, unquestionably, much more common in the 
Southwest than among the same class at the North. It was 
rather a fashion, and the mark of high spirit for young men 
of education to be skeptical, and to shoot the keen— alas ! 



* " When Mr. Prentiss was a member of the legislature, a proposition ^vas intro- 
duced to grant, on the part of the State, a lot of land at Jackson-the newly ocated 
seat of Government_to each denomination of Christians, for the erection thereon 
of a house of worship. The proposal encountered opposition; whereupon Mr 
PKENT1S3 rose to speak on it-no one knowing which side he was going to take-and 
poareTo 1 0^^ of his most eloquent speeches in behalf of the law. He described 
'he happy eilect of the observance of the Christian Sabbath upon a con^unity, and 

h vic'eTwhich spring out of its violation ; drawing In the course of h.s rema ks 
a vivid picture of a New England youth, ingenuous, free from -^^^l^^X^^- 

fromhisnat-ivehiUsto the far South, and there, on some bright Sabbach moin 
o chu^h- ' I g bell warning him of his danger-seduced by one grown grey in s n 

into a rlo^s game of cards, when he should-and, perhaps, had there been a house 

of God near by-would have been very differently engaged. 
" The law passed in due form ; and now each of the ^^^^^'^^^^^^/J j^/.e!" 

wherein they can worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. 

Letter from W. C. S. 



132 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

too often poisoned — arrows of their wit at the sacred truths, 
records, and venerable observances of religion. The tone 
of much of the popular literature, the Byronic rage and 
misanthropy, the influence of a flippant and shallow Biblical 
criticism echoing from across the water ; and, let the truth 
be told, the revulsion from not a little cant, morbid feeling, 
and narrow prejudice, v/hich w^ere mixed up with the 
genuine piety of the country ; these all conspired to make 
many a young man talk and act like an infidel, whose edu- 
cation and real principles were far above such conduct. 
But there were others whose early associations, and w^hole 
training alike fitted them to be scoffers ; young men of 
talent and liberal culture, perhaps, but who had never 
known a religious home, and whose conception of Christi- 
anity was derived, not from the JSTew Testament, but from 
the vvTitings of Thomas Paine, Mr. Jefferson, and the 
French infidels. It was a favorite custom with this class to 
deride v/hat they called '' conventionalism," in which they 
included, not merely the factitious rules and empty formal- 
ism of society, but much of its substantial morality ; that 
morality which separates between virtue and vice, and 
stamps the latter with public dishonor. 

It would be hardly possible to appreciate the following 
narjative without some knowledge of this darker phase — 
for it was but one of the phases — of tke social life of Missis- 
sippi, a quarter of a century ago. 

On the 5th of October, 1833, a duel occurred between 
Mr. Prentiss and Gen. Henry S. Poote, late Governor of 
Mississippi. They met at sunrise, on the Louisiana side of 
the river, opposite Yicksburg, and fought with pistols at 
ten steps. The former writes, a few days later — "I threw 
up my pistol as I fired, not intending to hit him at all, but 
so near had I been to killing him that my ball, even as I 



HOSTILE MEETING WITH GEN. FOOTE. 133 

threw up my pistol, hit him on the shoulder, slightly 
wounding* him in the flesh." 

His correspondence with his elder Ijrother, describing its 
cause and circumstances, together with the reasons, which, 
in his view, justified his conduct, lies before me ; but no good 
end would be secured by its publication. Not long after, a 
second meeting took place, in which Gen. Foote was 
wounded. These were the only duels which he ever fought. 
In later years, he and Gen. Foote became warm personal 
friends. During his last visit North, allusion was made, in 
his presence, to certain unhandsome reports touching that 
gentleman— then Senator in Congress— and which grew out 
of the above duels. I shall not soon forget his mingled 
expression of mortification . and regret, or the energy of 
tone, with which he affirmed their entire falsity. ^f' 

It is not to be supposed that he could so far depart 
from the principles in which he had been trained, as to fight 
a duel without some inward struggle and misgiving. He 
well knew that such an act would not only be regarded 
with severe disapprobation throughout New England, but 
would pierce with anguish the hearts of those, who were 
dearer to him than life. The latter consideration, in parti- 
cular deeply affected him. After the first meeting with Gen. 
Foote, an old friend, R. T. Archer, Esq., of Port Gibson, 
congratulated him on his escape from the necessity of tak- 
ing the life of a fellow-man. He instantly burst into tears, 
and alluding to his mother, replied with deep pathos, that 
no one could imagine his relief.f 

But he was young, high-spirited, reckless of consequences, 

* In a letter, dated " Senate CsxyiBER— August 21, 1S50," Gen. Foote m-ites : 
"Your brother's lamented demise shocked my sensibilities, I assure you, most pro- 
foundly, and I believe that few of his surviving friends, numerous as I know them 
to be, have been more distressed than myself, at his unexpected decease." 

t He expressed the utmost soHcitude lest his mother should know of the affair, and 
it is a singular fact, that she never did until after his death. In a letter to his 
elder brother, dated October 16, 1SS8, he writes :-" For the U^t three or four weeks, 



134 ilEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

aud duelliug was, among men of the world, an establislied 
custom of the country. He had persuaded himself too, 
that not only his own reputation but that of Xew England 
was at stake ; he fancied he was challenged because he was 
" a Yankee, and would not fight." 

In answer to a letter from his youngest brother, strongly 
remonstrating with him respecting his conduct, he wrote : — 
" I am very sorry you heard at all of my foohsh scrape. I 
regretted the occurrence as much as any one. I neither 
sought the difficulty nor sent the challenge, but having 
received it under the circumstances that existed, I could not 
have acted differently from what I did. If I had, I should 
have lost my own self-respect, and life itself would have had 
no further objects for me. I know that with your principles, 
no excuse will be sufficient in such a case. I am no advocate 
of duelling, and always shall from principle avoid such a 
thing, as much as possible ; but when a man is placed in a 
situation where if he does not fight, life will be rendered 
valueless to him, both in his own eyes and those of the 
community, and existence will become a burden to him ; 
then I say he will fight, and by so doing, will select the 
least of two evils, I know you will say that such a 
case as I have supposed, cannot occur ; but, brother, I 
think you are mistaken, and such cases may occur, but not 
often. However, I trust I shall never again have occasion 
to act in such a matter. You may rest assured, that I 
shall never seek a quarrel, and shall always avoid one, so 
long as I can do so, and retain my self-respect." 

The practice of duelling was, at this time, frightfully rife 
throughout the Southwest, particularly in Mississippi^ 

I have had some business on my hands, which has prevented my writing, and 
which I think it will puzzle you to guess. I will tell you, but you must not for 
the world let mother have the slightest hint about it. I have fought a duel." — Ho 
adds at the end of the letter : " Mother must on no account hear a word of this, 
for I know her religious feelings and principles are so opposed to what I have done, 
that it would caui=e her much uneasiness." 



DREADFUL EFFECTS OF DUELLING. 135 

Human life had grown so cheap, that " it was set at the 
price of words, and everj petty scorn and disgrace could 
have no other reparation ; nay, so many men's lives were 
taken away with impunity, that the very life of the Law 
was almost taken away under a reverend name of honor, 
and reputation." "It is a miserable effect," says Lord 
Bacon, from one of whose charges the above words are bor- 
rowed, "my lords, it is a miserable effect, when young 
men, full of towardness and hope, such as the poets call 
' aurorje filii,' sons of the morning, in whom the expectation 
and comfort of their friends consisteth, shall be cast away 
and destroyed in such a vain manner ; but much more, it is 
to be deplored when so much noble and genteel blood 
should be spilt upon such follies, as, if it were adventured in 
the field, in service of the king and realm, were able to make 
the fortune of a day, and to change the fortune of a kingdom." 
How many sweet homes, now desolate for ever — how 
many happy domestic circles, shattered past cure — how 
many sorrow-stricken hearts throughout the land, bear 
terrible witness to this " miserable effect !" 

If a veracious narrative of all the duels, and street-fights, 
which have ever occurred in the single State of Mississippi, 
including an honest account of all their evil consequences, 
in the subsequent history of the survivors, as well as of 
the families and relatives of the parties, if such a narra- 
tive could be written and published, it would " a tale 
unfold," which no man, not utterly heart-hardened, could 
read without a shudder. It is because these bitter and 
remorseful consequences are mainly concealed from the 
general eye, or seen only in remote and indirect connection 
with their proper cause, that any civilized community does 
not rise up in wrath, and put the stamp of infamy and 
reprobation upon this murderous custom. That instead of 
this, it should be still winked at, if not countenanced, by 



136 MEMOIR OF S. S. PKENTISS. 

men of highest standiug aud respectability, throughout large 
sections of the Union, especially that it should be permitted 
to infuse its fatal taint into the veins of the rising society 
of the Pacific — is a matter worthy of profound lamentation. 
Civilization must have apostatized very far from the Christian, 
or even a refined ethical type, where this barbarous insti- 
tution is tolerated."^ 



* In the above remarks, a paragraph is quoted from " The charge of Sh* Francis 
Bacon, Knight, the King's Attorney-General, touching Duels."— bacon's WorJcs, 
vol. Ti, p. 108. Montague's edition. 

The reader may not be unwilling to see the opinion of the same great Jurist and 
Philosopher, in reference to the causes and cure of this " desperate evil." 

" Touching the causes of it ; the fii'st motive, no doubt, is a false and erroneous 
imagination of honor and credit ; and therefore the king, in his last proclama- 
tion, doth most aptly and excellently call them l>ev:itcMng duels. For, if one 
judge of it truly, it is no better than a sorcery that enchanteth the spirits of young 
men, that bear great minds, with a false show, ' species falsa ;' and a kind of 
Satanical illusion and apparition of honor against religion, against law, against 
moral virtue, and against the precedents and examples of the best times, and 
vahantest nations; as I shall tell you, by and by, when I shall show you the law 
of England is not alone in this point. 

" But then the seed of this mischief being such, it is nourished by vain discourses, 
and green and unripe conceits, which nevertheless have so prevailed, as though a 
man were staid and sober-minded, and a right believer touching the vanity and 
unlawfulness of these duels ; yet the stream of vulgar opinion is such, as it imposeth 
a necessity upon men of value to conform themselves, or else there is no living or 
looking upon men's faces ; so that we have not to do in this case, so much with 
particular persons, as with unsound and depraved opinions, like the dominations 
and spirits of the air which the Scripture speaketh of. 

" Hereunto may be added, that men have almost lost the true notion and under- 
standing of fortitude and valor. For fortitude distinguisheth of the grounds of 
quarrels, whether they be just ; and not only so, but whether they be worthy ; 
and setteth a better price upon men's lives than to bestow them idly; nay, it is 
weakness and disesteem of a man's self, to put a man's life upon such liedger perform- 
ances ; a man's life is not to be trifled away ; it is to be offered up and sacrificed to 
honorable services, public merits, good causes, and noble adventures. It is in 
expense of blood as it is in expense of money ; it is no liberalitjjto make a profu- 
sion of money upon every occasion, nor no more it is fortitude to make an effusion 
of blood, except the cause be of worth, and thus much for the causes of this evil. 

" For the remedies, I hope some great and noble person will put his hand to this 
plougli, and I wish that my labors of this day, may be but forerunners to the work 
of a higher and better hand. But j'-et to deliver my opinion as may be proper 
for this time and place, there be four things th.at I have thought on, as the most 
effectual for tlie repressing of this depraved custom of particular combats. 

"The first is, that ihe.vp do appear and be dechirpd a coiistant and settled resolu« 



LOPwD BACOX ON' DUELLTXG. 13t 

The year 1834 foiiud Mr. Prentiss in the full tide of 
professional -success ; his legal reputation was now firmly 

tion in the State, to abolish it. For this is a thing, my lords, must go down at once 
or not at all ; for then every particular man -will think himself acquitted in his 
reputation, when he sees that the State takes it to heart, as an insult against tho 
king's power and authority, and thereupon hath absolutely resolved to master it ; 
like unto that which was set down in express words in the edict of Charles IX, of 
France, touching duels, that the king himself took upon him the honor of all that 
took themselves grieved or interested for not having performed the combat. So 
must the State do in this business ; and in my conscience there is none that is but 
of a reasonable sober disposition, be he never so valiant, except it be some furious 
person that is like a fire-work, but will be glad of it, when he shall see the Law and 
rule of state disinterest him of a vain and unnecessary hazard. 

" Secondly, care must be taken that this evil be no more cockered, nor the humor 
of it fed ; wherein I humbly pray your Lordships that I may speak my mind freely, 
and yet be understood aright. The proceedings OT the great and noble commis- 
sioners martial, I honor and reverence much, and of them I speak not in any sort ; 
but I say, the compounding of quarrels, which is otherwise in use by private noble- 
men and gentlemen, it is so punctual, and hath such reference and respect unto 
the received conceits, what's before-hand and what's behind-hand, and I cannot 
tell what, as without all question, it doth in a fashion, countenance and authorize 
this practice of duels, as if it had in it somewhat of right. 

" Thirdly, I must acknowledge that I learned out of the king's last proclamation, 
the most prudent and best applied remedy for this offence, if it shall please his 
majesty to use it, that the wit of man can devise. This offence, my lords, is 
grounded upon a false conception of honor, and therefore it would be punished in 
the same kind, i7i eo quis rectissime plectitur, in quo peecat. The fountain of 
honor is the king and his aspect, and the access to his person continueth honor in 
life, and to be banished from his presence, is one of the greatest eclipses of honor 
that can be ; if his majesty shall be pleased that when this court shall censure any 
of these offences in persons of eminent quality, to add this out of his own power 
and discipline, that these persons shall be banished and excluded from his court, 
for certain years, and the courts of his queen and prince. I think there is no man 
that hath any good blood in him, will commit an act that shall cast him into that 
darkness, that he may not behold his sovereign's face. 

" Lastly, and that which more properly concerneth this court ; we see, my lords 
the root of this offence is stubborn, for it despiseth death, which is the utmost of 
punishments ; and it were a just but a miserable severity, to execute the law with- 
out all remission or mercy, where the case proveth capital, and yet the late severity 
in France was more, where, by a kind of martial law, established by ordinance of 
the king and parliament, the party that had slain another was presently led to the 
gibbet, insomuch as gentlemen of great quality were hanged, their wounds bleeding, 
lest a natu^ death should prevent the example of justice. But, my lords, the 
course which we shall take, is of far greater lenity, and yet of no less efficacy ; 
which is to punish, in this court, all the middle acts and proceedings which tend to 
the duel, which I will enumerate to you anon, and so to hew and vex the root in 
the branches, which, no doubt in the end wiU kiU the root, and yet prevent tha 
extremity of law." 



138 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

establisTied ; the fame, too, of his eloquence, wit, and remark- 
able character, was noised abroad over the State. Wher- 
ever he went, he was quickly encircled by a crowd of curious 
and eager listeners. Business flowed in upon him from every 
quarter. In November, 1833, he writes to his mother : 
''Business is very flourishing with me now, and I think I 
have got so well established in my profession, that from 
henceforward I cannot fail to make money very fast. 
Indeed I do not know another lawyer in the State, whose 
business is, at present, better than my own." In February, 
1834, he writes to his elder sister : "I am so pressed with 
business that I can hardly spare the five minutes, which I 
have absolutely stolen from my professional engagements, for 
the purpose of redeeming my i^romise of writing you once a 
month — a promise which it always affords me gratification 
to perform, and which, I believe, I have not yet vio- 
lated." 

The following letters will show the character of much of 
his practice and the undiminished strength of his home 
affections. 

TO niS MOTHER. 

ViCKSBURG, March 23, 1834 

My Dear Mother: — 

I again sit down, as I have so often done before, 
to communicate with those whom neither time nor distance has 
rendered less dear to nie. On the contrary, if such a thing were 
possible, long absence has rendered my afiection for home, and 
those whom it contains, even stronger than it was when I first 
left you. 

"When I wrote last I believe I told you that I should probably 
start for home in June ; but I shall bo disappointed I have 
some business placed in my hands, by which I feel almost cer- 
tain of making three or four thousand dollars and perhaps more. 
But I am required, for the purpose of attending to it, to remain 



LETTERS HOME. 139 

here till the middle or, perhaps, the latter part of summer. The 
business is this : — Some gentlemen of this jjlace have a claim to 
a portion of this town, and the property to which they lay 
claim is of very great value. They have employed me to inves- 
tigate the case, and I have not the slightest doubt of their suc- 
cess. Much, therefore, as I wish to be with yon, my duty and 
my very love for you all, will not permit me to throw away a 
speculation which bids fair to be so profitable. 

My business generally is very flourishing, and continually in- 
creasing. I have nothing new to tell you. The times here are 
very bad. The mad course of the President has caused more ruin 
in the country than was ever known before. Money, at present, 
seems to Iiave taken to itself wings, and unless there is some 
change shortly, two-thirds of the people of this country will 
fail. I am very sorry to see it, though it will make plenty of 
■work for the lawyers. My love to you all. 

Your afiectionate son, 

S. S. Peentiss. 



TO THE SAXE. 

TiCKSBCRG, 3Tay 22, 183i. 

My Deae Mothee: — 

I am in debt two letters— one to Abby and one to 
^nna— but I know I am dealing with kind creditors, and consi- 
dering I have been heretofore so punctual, I think I may risk 
throwing myself upon their mercy for this time. The fact is, I 
have for the last three or four weeks been so laboriously 
employed in business that, though I cannot say I have not had 
time to write, yet my mind has not been in a situation to com- 
mune with home and my friends ; and I hate to write when I 
have not time to sit down and enjoy the luxury of thinking 
about you all as long as I please. 

Por the last week, among other important business, I have 
been defending a man charged with murder ; and after a long 
and laborious trial, succeeded in acquitting him. To-morrow I 
have to start to a court eighty miles in the interior, for the pur- 



140 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

pose of defending a man in another case of murder. I just 
received the letter requesting me to come and defend him ; and 
as I shall be gone at least a week, I have sat down to write 
(though it is now twelve o'clock at night), lest you should 
think I had begun to forget you. I have been employed, in the 
last six months, in a good many cases where men were tried for 
their lives, and so far have been always successful. This has 
given me some little reputation in such matters ; and now there 
is hardly a murder or anything of the kind takes place about 
here ( and they occur very often ), but I am employed on one 
side or the other. 

I regret to hear from Anna's letter, that G.'s health is bad. 
I think he has acted very wisely in quitting his studies for a 
while, and trying the effects of a trip at sea; I trust it will have 
the desired effect. G.'s constitution used to be good, and I 
cannot suppose that his illness will amount to anything more 
than a temporary indisposition. 

Tell the girls I thank them very much for their kind letters ; 
and trust thev will continue to write often. I have not heard 
from W. for some time. Not a word from S. ; where can he 
be ? My kindest and best love love to you all. 

Your affectionate son, 

S. S. Peentiss. 



TO HIS SISTEE ABBY. 

TiCKSBURG, July 4, 1884. 

Dear Sistee Abbt : — 

I have just received your letter, and think I cannot 
spend a part of the Fourth of July better than in answering it. 
I regret very much the misfortune which has befallen our poor 

little M in the loss of one of her eyes, w^hich you mention 

in your letter. It seems as if the poor girl was born for misfor- 
tune. This additional one will only render it the more incum- 
bent upon us all to be kind to her. I have been in excellent 
health since I wrote last, and apprehend no danger from sickness 
this summer. We have had no cholera yet at Yicksburg, and I 



LETTERS HOME. 141 

trust shall escape it for this season. It prevailed a little upon 
the river, on the steamboats, but at present, I believe, has pretty 
much ceased. I told you, in one of my former letters, that I 
should be detained here till August, on some important business 
in which I had become engaged. I fear that it "vvill detain me 
even later than that, and should it do so, it is not impossible that 
I may again suffer the cruel disappointment of being compelled 
to defer my visit home. The business I allude to, is of too much 
importance to admit of any neglect. I believe I explained the 
nature of it in one of my former letters. I have no doubt I 
shall make by it three or four thousand dollars. I still hope I 
may so arrange the business, that I can leave the first of August ; 
but should I be detained beyond that time, I shall be compelled 
to postpone my visit till the ensuing spring. There has not, since 
I left home, been a summer so important to my interests as the 
present ; and the very love and affection which I bear you all, 
may compel me to forego the pleasure of seeing you this summer, 
for the more important pleasure of making myself able to render 
you some assistance. I know it will be a severe disaj^pointment 
to you all, and especially to mother, should I again fail in my 
promised visit. But if I disappoint you once more, you must 
do me the justice to believe it will be as painful to me as it can 
possibly be to you, and that nothing but absolute necessity shall 
prevent me from coming. 

Pray do not forget to write often ; and Avith my best love to 
you all, believe me, 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegext. 



TO HIS MOTHEK AND SISTEES. 

ViCKSBCRG, August 23, 1834. 

My deak Mother a2sd Sistees : — 

I suppose, upon seeing a letter dated as late as 
this, at Yicksburg, it will be almost unnecessary for me to say 
that I shall not embrace my dear mother and my pretty sisters 
this summer. I did hope, notwithstanding the detention which 



142 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

I informed you of in my previous letters, that I still would be 
able to steal away a couple of months this fall, and redeem the 
promise, which I have broken so often that I presume by this 
time it has become worthless. But in addition to the business 
concerning which I have already informed you, there has been 
an alteration in the time of holding several of the most important 
courts, at which ray engagements require my personal attendance. 
I start out to attend them in about ten days, so that you will 
perceive at once the impossibility of my coming home this fall. 
I will not ask you to be confident that I shall come next year, 
but I feel confident myself that I shall. This much I do most 
solemnly promise, that I will make all my arrangements in busi- 
ness, with an eye to doing so, and nothing but inevitable accident 
shall prevent it. 

Since I have been in this country, there has not been a year 
in which I could not have left the State with less sacrifice than 
during the present. I know it will be gratifying for you to learn, 
that I feel almost confident of being able, hereafter, to make at 
least three thousand dollars a year. This year I have attended 
to more business, than all the time I have been practising before. 
I have, in particular, engaged in a great many capital cases, 
where men have been tried for murder and other enormous 
crimes, and I have been very successful. Heretofore, I have 
made fittle money, and even now, the fees for most of my 
business are still owing to me. I hope hereafter to be able to do 
more for those I love. If my views are not too sanguine, I shall 
be able to gratify myself by so doing. 

I know Anna will laugh at me very heartily, when I tell her 
that I have been strongly sohcited by some of the most infiu- 
ential men in the State, to become a candidate for Congress, 
and, further, that I believe, if I pleased, I could be elected. But 
I have refused without hesitation. I have stated to you my 
situation here, not by way of boasting, but because I knew it 
would gratify you, and because it might serve as some additional 
reason why I should not sacrifice my prospects, even to the 
pleasure of visiting home this summer. 

I received Anna's agreeable letter yesterday, and thank her 



1 



LETTERS HOME. 143 

for it. The only complaint I have to make is, that she does not 
write often enough, nor does Abby, nor do you, my dear mother. 
You cannot tell how gratified I was to hear that S. was in the 
land of the living. The moment I can get two weeks to spare, 
I shall go to Mobile, and find him out. My love to you all. 

Your aflPectionate 

Seaegext. 



TO niS SISTER ABBY. 

ViCKSBURG, December 10, 1S34. 

Deak Sister i\jBBY : — 

Most of my letters of late have commenced with 
apologies for ray negligence in not writing more regularly. But 
really it is now impossible for me to write as regularly as I used 
to do. My business compels me to be absent from Yicksburg at 
least half my time, and tliis in periods of a month or two months 
together. "While away from Yicksburg, I find it out of the 
question to sit down with any pleasure for the purpose of com- 
muning with those I love. Surrounded, during the whole time 
of my absence, by noisy and boisterous people — overwhelmed 
and perplexed by complicated business — subject every moment 
to be intruded upon by the calls of clients — I become so vexed 
and harassed, that when I return to Yicksburg and find a letter 
from home, and then sit quietly down in my office to answer it, 
as I am now doing, it seems as if I had gotten into a new world. 
Indeed it is the greatest luxury I enjoy. 

I found on ]uy return froni court, a day or two since, a letter 
from you and also one from Anna. I am much pleased that you 
are spending the winter in New York. It will afford you so 

much gratification, and W and A , too. But more than 

all, I am pleased with the advantages which you will necessarily 
derive from a residence there for a few months. It will enable 
you to see and know more of the world than years of residence 
at home ; and such knowledge is valuable.^ It opens new sub- 
jects for reflection, and still more, teaches one to compare the 
pleasures arising from intercourse with fashionable society — 



\ 



144 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

■with strangers who care nothing about you — and those arising 
from the exercise of the duties and affections, which flourish 
only among those who gather round the same fireside, and 
form part of the same domestic circle. If I know anything of 
the disposition and character of my sweet and gentle sister 
Abby, she will enjoy fully all that presents itself worth her 
observation, during her stay in the great city, but will return 
to the little village with more pleasure than she left it ; there 
to resume her former occupation of relieving the cares, and 
increasing the enjoyments, of one of the best mothers in the 
world : and no one is better fitted for such an occupation. 

Permit me to act as your banker ; and accept the within note 
to defray such little expenses as you may incur ; it is from your 
brother. I thank you most kindly for your offer to make up 
some linen for me, but I cannot permit it. I had rather you 
would spend your time for your own advantage and not for 
mine. "When you have nothing else to do, read, write, take 
lessons in some accomplishment which you wish to acquire. If 
Miss Augusta is the same sprightly and lively young lady I once 
knew, she will not hesitate to join you. When you return 
home again, I will avail myself of your kindness. 

My love to "William and his family, and believe me ever 

Your most affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 

His journeys to attend the various courts in the interior 
of the State, referred to in the preceding letters, were 
generally made on horseback. They still live in the mem- 
ory of his brethren of the bar, who were wont to be his 
companions, among their most delightful recollections of 
him. He was, as has been said, a great lover of nature ; 
and although the scenery of Mississippi has little of the 
varied beauty and grandeur which mark the landscapes 
of New England, there was yet much in it well fitted to 
excite his imagination. Its gorgeous flora, — the wild splen- 
dor of its vegetation — the colossal forms and sombre aspect 



M} 



RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 145 

of its aboriginal forests, still inhabited by the red man, 
abounding in all sorts of game, and haunted by savage 
beasts — the lonely roads, traversing sometimes an old 
Indian trail, and memorable for tales of robberv, murder, or 
other fearful tragedies — the dark rivers and sluggish lakes, 
filled with alligators, or suddenly crossed by a flock of 
noble deer — these things wrought upon his fancy in a sin- 
gular manner.* It was during these long rides through 
the forest, that he was most apt to be in the mood for dis- 
closing the stores of his wonderful memory, or discussing 
high questions of philosophy, government, and human 
destiny. 

One of his friends, referring to this point, writes: "To 
him 

' A thing of beauty was a joy for ever.' 

His memory was extraordinary. Fused by his glowing 
enthusiasm, it received every impression made on it, deeply 
and indelibly. I remember having once ridden with him to 
a neighboring county court, and during the jaunty conver- 
sations usually attending such journeys ( there were no 
railroads in those days) I would sometimes recite a line 
from Byron, and he would immediately take up the stanza 
and repeat whole successive pages, without hesitation. The 
Siege of Corinth will never be forgotten by those, who were 
so fortunate as to be present on those few occasions when, 
among his friends, he would recite it with a look and tone, 
accent, and gesture truly electric." f 

"Your brother was a bold and daring thinker. As we 
have rode together from one court to another, along lonely 

* The reader will find some graphic descriptions of the scenery and rural sports 
of the Southwest in The Hive of the Bee-ffurUer, by T. B. Thorpe, Esq. The piece 
entitled Wild Turkey Hunting, is a delightful specimen of word-painting. 

tJno. M. Chilton, Esq. 



146 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

and unfrequented roads, I have sometimes known him to 
push his thoughts, as it seemed to me, to the outermost verge 
of human conception, and then settle for many minntes, into 
painful and sickly melancholy, because his intellect could 
not peer beyond the field of mortal vision. His melancholy 
never lasted long, but it was intense while it was upon him. 
Fortunately nature had given him such animal spirits as to 
prevent the possibility of his becoming a misanthrope, or he, 
the most joyous being that I ever met, might have sunk into a 
moody and miserable man." * 

Ife was at this time in the very heyday of jovial good- 
nature. Everybody liked him, and he was disposed to like 
everybody in return. The following anecdote will illustrate 
his popularity, and his pleasant temper, while it also throws 
light upon the character of the times. 

" On one occasion he was opposed before Judge Scott 

(now residing in Texas), by George C , afterwards, for 

many years. Judge of the Circuit Court, for the district, 
comprising Yicksburg ; and in the course of the trial, an 
altercation ensued, which resulted in blows. The Judge 
immediately fined both combatants, and ordered them to be 
imprisoned for twenty-four hours in the county jail. Mr. 

C , attempted by excuses to get off, but Mr. Prentiss 

(who by the way had been knocked down), rose quite alertly, 
and acknowledging to the Court the justice of the sen- 
tence, added, with significant drollery, that before it 
was carried into execution, he had one request to make. 
The Court granted permission with twinkling eye and ill- 
concealed mirth. 

"May it please your Honor," said Mr. Prentiss, " I have 
nothing to say against the sentence just pronounced. I 



♦Judge Wilkinson. 



EULOGY OS LAFAYETTK. 14 1 

have beeu guilty of uaintentional disrespect to the Court 
as well as great want of self-respect. But — but (and here 
he affected a degree of naivete and sincerity, that for the 
moment deceived every one), I hope your Honor will not 
disgrace me by putting me in the same cell with George 
C !" The bystanders and bar were^ of course, con- 
vulsed with laughter, and the judge himself could only 
restrain his risibles long enough to order the sheriff 
to adjourn the court. Both were conducted to their 
respective cells. On that night all the members of the bar, 
and many of the citizens, repaired to Mr. P.'s cell, where 
they spent the night in partaking of a sumptuous supper, 
and enjoying the oxhaustless good humor of their captive 
guest. On the next day, a multitude guarded him from his 
prison to the court-house, and in the bold flight of the 
liberated eagle, every one soon forgot his temporary cap- 
tivity." * - s^ 

In the month of August, of this year, he delivered an 
address at Jackson, the capital of the State, in memory of 
Lafayette. It is evidently a hasty effusion, and is said to 
have been written, at a single sitting, a night or two before 
its delivery. Although it may now sound somewhat extra- 
vagant, even for a eulogy, it only echoed the sentiment 
which pervaded the entire nation, when the news came that 
their beloved friend and benefactor was no more. In one 
of his college letters, he speaks of having seen and shaken 
hands with Lafayette, when the latter visited Portland. 

The following extracts contain the substance of the 
address : — 

Death, who knocks with equal hand at the door of the cottage 
and the palace gate, has been busy at his appointed work. 
Mourning prevails throughout the land, and the countenances 

*John M. Chilton, Esq. 



148 SIEilOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

of all are shrouded iu the mantle of regret. Far across the 
wild Atlantic, amid the pleasant vineyards, in the sunny land of 
France — there, too, is mourning ; and the weeds of sorrow are 
alike worn by prince and peasant. And against whom has 
the monarch of the tomb turned his remorseless dart, that 
such wide-spread sorrow should prevail ? Hark ! and the ago- 
nized voice of Freedom, weeping for her favorite son, will tell 
you, in strains sadder than those v/itli which she shrieked at 
Kosciusko's fall, that Lafayette — the gallant and the good — 
has ceased to live. 

The friend and companion of Washington is no more ! He 
who taught the eagle of our country, while yet unfledged, to 
plume his young wing, and mate his talons with the lion's 
strength, has taken his flight far beyond the stars, beneath 
whose influence he fought so well. Lafayette is dead ! The 
gallant ship, whose pennon has so often bravely streamed 
above the roar of battle and the tempest's rage, has at length 
gone slowly down in the still and quiet waters. Well mightest 
thou, O Death! now recline beneath the laurels thou hast won, 
and for a while forego thy relentless task : for never, since, as 
the grim messenger of Almighty vengeance, thou camest into 
this world, did a more generous heart cease to heave beneath 
thy chilling touch, and never will thy insatiable dart be hurled 
against a nobler breast. Who does not feel, at the mournful 
intelligence, as if he had lost something cheering from his own. 
path through life : as if some bright star, at which he had been 
accustomed frequently and fondly to gaze, had been suddenly 
extinguished in the firmament? 

The page of history abounds with those who have struggled 
forth from the nameless crowd, and, standing forward in the 
front ranks, challenged the notice of their fellow-men : but 
when, in obedience to their bold demands, we examine their 
claims to our admiration, how seldom do we find aught that 
excites our respect or commands our veneration ! 

With what pleasure do we turn from the contemplation of the 
Caesars and Napoleons of the human race, to meditate upon the 
character of Lafayette! We feel proud that we belong to 



EULOGY OX LAFAYETTE. 149 

the same species : we feel proud tLat we live in the same age: 
and Ave feel still more proud, that our own country drew forth 
and nurtured those generous virtues, wljich went to form a 
character, tiiat, for love of liberty, romantic chivalry, unbounded 
generosity, and unwavering integrity, has never had a parallel. 

The history of this wonderful man is engraved upon the 
memory of every American. I shall only advert to such por- 
tions of it as will best tend to illustrate his character. In 1777, 
our fathers were engaged in rescuing from the fangs of tlio 
Britisli lion, the rights which their sons are now enjoying. It 
was the gloomiest period of the Revolutionary struggle. Our 
army was feeble and unprovided; an insolent and victorious 
enemy was pressing hard upon them ; despondency had spread 
through their ranks. It seemed as if the last hope of Freedom 
was gone. Deep gloom had settled over the whole country ; 
and men looked with a despairing aspect upon the issue of a 
contest, which their best wishes could not flatter them was 
doubtful. It was at this critical period that their hopes were 
renovated and their spirits roused, by the cheering intelligence 
that at Charleston, in the State of South Carolina, had just 
arrived a gallant French nobleman, of high rank and immense 
wealth, eager to embark his person and liis fortunes in the 
sacred cause of Liberty! New impulse was given to the energies 
of our dispirited troops. As the first ray of morning breaks 
upon the benighted and tempest-tossed mariner, so did this 
timely assistance cheer the hearts of the war-worn and almost 
despairing soldiers of Freedom. The enthusiastic Frenchman, 
tliough but a beardless youth, was immediately taken to the 
affections and the confidence of Washington. Soon, too, did he 
flesh his maiden sword upon his hereditary foes, and proved, 
upon the field of Brandywine, that his blood flowed as freely as 
his treasure, in the cause he had espoused. That blood was the 
blood of the young Lafayette ! And but nineteen summers 
had passed over his brow, when he was thus found fighting side 
by side with the veteran warriors of Bunker Hill. But how 
came he here? Born to a high name and a rich inheritance — 
educated at a dissipated and voluptuous court — married to a 



150 MEMOIR OF S. S. PKEXTIS3, 

young and beautiful woman — how came lie to break through 
the blandishments of love and the temptations of pleasure, and 
thus be found fighting the battles of strangers, far away in the 
wilds of America? It was because, from his infancy, there had 
grown up in his bosom a passion more potent than all others : 
and that passion was the love of liberty. A spark from the very 
altar of Freedom had fallen upon his heart, and he watched and 
cherished it with more than vestal vigilance. This X)assionate 
love of liberty — this fire that was thenceforth to glow unquenched 
and undimmed, impelled him to break asunder the ties both of 
pleasure and affection. He had heard that a gallant people had 
raised the standard against oppression, and he hastened to join, 
them. It was to him the Crusade of Liberty ; and, like a knight 
of the Holy Cross, he enlisted in the ranks of those who had 
sworn to rescue her altars from the profane touch of the tyrant. 

More genial far to him were the hardships, the dangers, and 
the freedom of the American wilds, than the ease, the luxury, 
and the slavery of his native court. He exchanged the voice of 
love for the savage yell and the hostile shout — the gentle strains 
of the harp and lute, for the trumpet and drum, and the still 
more terrible music of clashing arms. Kor did he come alone 
or empty handed. The people in whose cause he was about 
to peril his life and his fortune, were too poor to afford him 
even the means of conveyance, and his own court threw every 
obstacle in the way of the accomplishment of his wishes. Did 
this damp his ardor? Did this chill his generous aspiration? 
No; they added new vigor to each. "I will fit. out a vessel 
myself!" exclaimed the youthful enthusiast. x\nd in spite of the " 
sneers of the young and the cautions of the old, the gallant boy 
redeemed his pledge. Soon a proud ship was seen flying " fast 
and falcon-like " across ' the wide Atlantic. She landed on 
our shores like a bird of promise ; and by her present aid, and 
hopes of future succor, infused new vigor into our almost palsied 
arms. 

Such was the commencement of a career, destined to be more 
brilhant than aught of which we read in tale or history, realizing 
the wildest wishes of youthful enthusiasm, and proving that 



EULOGY OX LAFAYETTE, 151 

the romance of real life often exceeds the strangest fictions of 
the imagination. 

From the moment of joining our ranks, the young hero 
became t]i« pride and the boast^- of the whole army. He won 
the affections of the stern-browed and iron-souled warriors of 
Kew England, and was received with open arms by the warm- 
hearted and chivalric sons of the South. Though the down of 
manhood had scarcely begun to spring upon his cheek, yet were" 
his counsels eagerly listened to by the hoary leaders and the 
scarred veterans of the war. On the field of battle, he was 
impetuous and brave; in the council, the wisdom of Kestor 
flowed from his lips. 

It is not my intention, nor will the present occasion allow, to 
go into a detailed account of the services rendered by Lafay- 
ette to the country of his adoption. Suffice it to say, that through- 
out the Revolutionary struggle, with unchanged fidelity and 
iindeviating devotion, he continued to pour forth his blood 
and his treasure in the sacred cause he had espoused; and when 
at length, full of honors, without one single stain upon his 
bright escutcheon, he returned to his native land, the voices of 
millions of freemen were united in invoking the blessings of 
Heaven upon his head. From thenceforth a halo of glory sur- 
rounded him, and he was hailed by all the world as the Apostle 
of Liberty. And well did he deserve the title ! For not more 
truly does the needle point to the pole, than did all his feelings 
point to the great principles of civil freedom. 

During the sanguinary scenes of the French Revolution, when 
the people had quafied so deeply at the fountain of liberty, 
that they became drunk and frenzied with the unusual draughts, 
Lafayette alone lost not his equanimity. He alone dared to 
oppose the wild excesses of the Jacobins: and though he was 
unable entirely to stem the maddened torrent, which seemed let 
loose from liell itself, yet many are the thar)ks due to his unwea- 
ried exertions to restrain that torrent within the banks of law 
and civil order. Throughout those troublesome times, he was 
found at his post, by the side of the constitution and the laws ; 
aud when at length the whole foundations of society were 



162 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

« 

broken up, aud tbe wild current of licentiousness and crime 
swept him an exile to a foreign land, still did he hold fast his 
integrity. In the gloomy dungeons of Olmutz, the flame of 
patriotism glowed as brightly and as ■warmly in his breast, as 
ever it did when fanned by the free breezes of the mountains. 

The dungeons of Olmutz! What associations are connecte-d 
with the name ! They form a part of the romance of history. 
For five long years was the Friend of Liberty immured in the 
prison of a tyrant. In vain did the civilized world demand his 
release. But what nations could not effect, came near being 
accomplished by the devoted exertions of two chivalric young 
men; and one of them was a South Carolinian, whose father 
bad extended the hospitality of his house to Lafayette, when, 
on his first visit to America, he landed in the city of 
Charleston. Strange, that after the lapse of^o many years, the 
little child who had then climbed upon his knee, should now be 
perilling life for his rescue ! There is nothing in history to 
compare with this romantic episode of real life — unless, perhaps, 
the story of the minstrel friend of the lion-hearted Kichard, 
wandering through those very dominions, tuning his harp be- 
neath every fortress, till at length his strains "were answered, 
and the prison of the royal Crusader discovered.* 

But the doors of the Austrian dungeon were at length thrown 
open, and Lafayette returned to France. Great changes, hoTV- 
ever, had taken place in his absence. The flood of the Eevolu- 
tion had subsided. The tempest of popular commotion had 
blown over, leaving many and fearful evidences of its terrible 
fury ; and the star of the Child of Destiny had now become lord 
of the ascendant. Small was the sympathy between the selfish 
and ambitions Kapoleon, and Lafayette, the patriot and philan- 
thropist. They could no more mingle, than the pure lights of 
Heaven and the unholy fires of hell. Lafayette refused with 



* The young Carolinian was Col. Francis K. Huger, who died February, 1S55, 
at the advanced age of eighty-two. Ills companion was Dr. Eric Bollman, ot 
Philadelphia. They both suffered a long incarceration in consequence of theii 
generous adventure. — Ed. 



EL'LOGV Oa LAFAYETTE. 153 

scorn the dignities proffered by the First Consul. Filled "with 
virtuous indignation at his country's fate, he retired from the 
capital ; and devoting himself •» while to the pursuits of private 
life, awaited the return of better times. ^ 

And here we cannot but pause for a moment to compare these 
two wonderful men, belonging to the same age and to tlie same 
nation — Xapoleon and Lafayette. Their names excite no 
kindred emotions ; their fates no kindred sympathies. ITapo- 
leon — the child of destiny — the thunderbolt of war — the victor 
in a hundred battles — the dispen.ser of thrones and dominions : — 
he who scaled the Alps, and reclined beneath the p^^ramids ; 
whose word was fate, and whose wish was law. Lafayette — 
the volunteer of Freedom — the advocate of human rights — the 
defender of civil liberty — the patriot, the philanthropist — the be- 
loved of the good and the free. Xapoleon — the vanquished 
warrior, ignobly flying from the field of Waterloo : the wild 
beast, ravaging all Europe in his wrath, hunted down by the 
banded and affrighted nations, and caged far away upon an 
ocean-girded rock : — Lafayette — a watch-word by which men 
excite each other to deeds of worth and noble daring ; whose 
home has become the Mecca of freedom, towards Avhicli the 
pilgrims of Liberty turn their eyes from every quarter of the 
globe, j^apoleon was the red and fiery comet, shooting wildly 
through the realms of space, and scattering terror and pestilence 
among the nations : — Lafayette was the pure and brilHant 
planet, beneath whose grateful beams the mariner directs his 
barque, and the shepherd tends his flocks. Kapoleon died, and 
a few old warriors — the scattered relics of Marengo and of 
Austerhtz — bewailed their chief: — Lafayette is dead — and the 
tears of a civilized world attest how deep is the mourning for 
his loss. Such is, and always will be the difference of feeling 
towards a l)enefactor and a conqueror of the human race. 

In 1824, on Sunday, a single ship furled her snowy sails in 
the harbor of K'ew York. Scarcely had her prow touched the 
shore, when a murmur was heard among the multitude, which 
gradually deepened into a mighty shout ; and that shout was a 
sbout of joy. Again and again were the heavens rent with the 



•7* 



154 MK:.rniii OF .-i. s. prentiss. 

inspiring sound. Xor did it coase; for the loud strain was 
5arried from city to city, and from State to State, till not a 
tongue was silent throughout this* wide Eepublic, from the lisp- 
ing infant to the tremulous old man. All were united in one 
wild shout of gratulation. The voices of more than ten millions 
of freemen gushed up towards the sky, and broke the stillness of 
its silent depths. But one note, and but one tone, went to form 
this acclamation. Up in those pure regions, clearly and sweetly 
did it sound — "Honor to Lafayette!" '''Welcome to the 
Nation's Guest!" It was Lafayette, the war-worn veteran, 
whose arrival upon our shores had caused this wide-spread, this 
universal joy. He came among us to behold the independence 
and the freedom which his young arm had so well assisted in 
achieving ; and never before did eye behold, or heart of man 
conceive, such homage paid to virtue. His whole stay amongst 
us, was a continued triumph. Every day's march was an ova- 
tion. The United States became for months one great festive 
hall. People forgot the usual occupations of life, and crowded 
to behold the Benefactor of mankind. The iron-hearted, grey- 
haired veterans of the Revolution thronged around him, to 
touch his hand, to behold his face, and to call down Heaven's 
benison upon their old companion-in-arms. Lisping infancy and 
garrulous age, beauty, talents, wealth and power — all, for a 
while, forsook their usual pursuits, and united to pay a willing 
tribute of gratitude and welcome to the Nation's Guest. Tlie 
name of La Fayette was upon every hp, and wherever was his 
name, there too was an invocation for blessings on his head. 
"What were the triumphs of the classic ages, compared with this 
unbought love and homage of a mighty people? Take them in 
Rome's best days — when the invincible generals of the Eternal 
City returned from their foreign conquests, with captive kings 
bound to their chariot wheels, and the spoils of nations in tlieir 
train ; followed by their stern and bearded warriors, and sur- 
rounded by the interminable multitudes of the seven-hilled city, 
shouting a fierce welcome home, — what was such a triumph, 
compared with that of Lafayette? Not a single city, but a 
whole nation, rising as one man, and greeting him with an 



EULOGY O.N LAFAYETTK. 155 

affectionate embrace ! One single day of such spontaneona 
homage, were vrorth Avhole years of courtly adulation ; one 
hour might well reward a man for a whole life of danger and of 
toil. Then, too, the joy wiih which he must have viewed the 
prosperity of the people for whom he had so heroicaly struggled! 
To behold the nation which he had left a little child, now grown 
up in the full proportions of lusty manhood ! To see the tender 
saphng, which he h.ad left with hardly shade enough to cover 
its own roots, now waxing into the sturdy and unwedgeable 
oak, beneath whose grateful umbrage the oppressed of all 
nations find shelter and protection! That oak still grows on in 
its majestic strength, and wider and wider still extend its 
mighty branches. But the hand that watered and nourished it, 
while yet a tender plant, is now cold: the heart that watched, 
with strong affection, its early growth, has ceased to beat. 

Virtue forms no shield to ward off the arrows of death. 
Could it have availed, even when joined with the prayers of a 
whole civilized world, then indeed, this mournful occasion 
would never have occurred ; and the life of Lafayette would 
have been as eternal as his fame. Yet though he has passed 
from among us — though that countenance will no more be seen, 
that used to lighten up the van of Freedom's battles, as he led 
her eaglets to their feast — still has he left behind his better part 
— the legacy of his bright example — the memory of his deeds. 
The lisping infant will learn to speak his venerated name. The 
youth of every country will be taught to look upon his career, 
and follow in his footsteps. "When, hereafter, a gallant 
people are fighting for Freedom against the oppressor, and 
their cause begins to wane before the mercenary bands of 
tyranny — then will the name of Lafayette become a watch- 
word, that will strike with terror on the tyrant's ear, and nerve 
with redoubled vigor the freeman's arm. At that name 
man}- a heart before unmoved, will wake in the glorious cause ; 
many a sword, rusting ingloriously in its scabbard, will leap forth 
to battle. And even amid the mourning with which our souls 
are shrouded, is there not some room for gratulation ? Our 
departed friend and benefactor Ijas gone down to the grave, 



156 



MEMOIR OF S. 



PREXTIS: 



peacefully and quietly, at a good old age. He had performed 
his appointed Avork. His virtues were ripe. He liad done 
nothing to sully his fair fame. No blot or soil of envy or 
calumny can now affect him. His character will stand upon the 
pages of history, pure and unsullied as the lihed emblem on his 
country's banner. He has departed from among us; but he 
has become again the companion of "Washington. He has but 
left the friends of his old age, to associate with the friends of 
his youth. Peace be to his ashes ! Calm and quiet may they 
rest upon some vine-clad hill of his own beloved land ! And it 
shall be called the Mount Yernon of France. >And let no cun- 
ning sculpture, no monumental marble, deface, with its mock 
dignity, the patriot's grave : but rather let the unpruned vine, 
the wild flower, and the free song of the uncaged bird — a\l that 
speaks of freedom and of peace, be gathered round it^A La- 
fayette needs no mausoleum. His fame is mingled with a 
Nation's History. His epitaph is engraved upon the hearts of 
men. 



LETPERS HOME. 15t 



CHAPTER YII. 

Letters — Voyage to New York — His First Visit Home — Letters — Serious Accident — 
Is elected a Member of the Legislature — Entrance into Political Life — Anecdote 
of a Backwoods Speech — Session of the Legislature — Letters Home — Visit to 
Kentucky — His Trips up and down the Mississippi — Scenery and Scenes on 
the River — Vicksburg in 1S36-7. 

JEt. 26—28. 1835—1837. 

s. 8. peentis3 to his mothee. 

ViCKSBDBG, February 7, 1835. 

My Dear Motieee: — 

I Lave just returned to Vicksburg, after an absence 
of six weeks on business. At least two-thirds of my time is 
spent from home, in attendance upon courts and other profes- 
sional engagements. This is the occasion of the irregularity 
which has, of late, crept into my correspondence. Though I 
arrived here but yesterday, I am compelled to leave again to- 
morrow, and shall not bo back for several weeks. Indeed, my 
business presses me so much, that I have hardly time to write 
the few lines you are reading. 

Our weather has been exceedingly warm till within two or 
three days, since which time it has been as cold, I think, as I 
ever knew it in Maine. Even now, as I write, I hear the earth 
bursting, and the vessels breaking every instant. It seems, 
indeed, like old times. I think there is nothing now within the 
ordinary occurrences of life, that can prevent my coming home 
next summer. I shall not be able to start till some time in the 
latter part of June. I anticipate a degree of pleasure beyonfi- 
anything I have known for years, in this visit. 

I am in a great hurry, and will have to crave your indulgence 
for so poor an epistle. I know, however, that I can rely on it ; 



158 MEMOIR OF S. S. FRKNTISS. 

for you are well assured that, whatever may be wanting in my 
letters, tlicre is nothing wanting in the feelings and warm affec- 
tions that dictate them. My love to you all; and, wilh the 
hope of seeing you soon, I remain 

Your affectionate son, 

Seaegent. 

to the same. 

ViCKSBURG, May 11, 1835. 

My Dear Mothee: — 

For the first time since I have been in this coun- 
try, I have to inform you that I have been a little indisposed ; 
but then I have the satisfaction of telling you that I have 
entirely recovered from it, and am again as well as ever I was 
in my life. And what do you think has been the matter with 
me ? Nothing more nor less than the varioloid. Soon after 
my last letter, I learned that a particular friend of mine at 
l^atchez, Mr. Huston, was lying at the point of death with the 
sraall-pox. I went immediately down to see him, and found 
that he had, indeed, a terrible case of that loathsome disease. I 
stayed with him two or three days, and finding that he had 
passed the crisis, and would probably get over it, I returned to 
Yicksburg. As I had a good vaccine mark on my arm, and 
knew you were ahvays careful to have the children vaccinated, 
I felt no alarm — although I could not recollect that I ever had 
been vaccinated. But, thanks to your care, it had been done 
and well done ; otherwise I should have had the worst kind of 
small-pox. Even as it was, after having returned about ten 
days, I had the varioloid, and was laid up for just a week. 
There was very little eruption, and it will not mark me in the 
slightest degree. I have been out now several days. I am glad 
of the occurrence, as 1 7ioio need have no fear whatever of the 
sraall-pos. 

I cannot tell even yet exactly when I shall start for home. 
Our court here is now in session ; but there is one more court, 
where I have important business, requiring my personal atten- 
tion, which does not sit till the middle of Juune. If that court 
should be certain to sit (which I have not yet ascertained), I 



VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 159 

must attend it, and sliall not get off till about the first day of 
July — that is tiie farthest, however. I have everything ready, 
and the money now lying in bank, for the trip. 

My love to the girls ; I believe I owe them both a letter ; but 
I'll pay them in talk ^vhen I come home. As the time 
approaches, in which I trust to see you all, I have lost half my 
inclination to write; for I am continually thinking how much 
fjleasanter it will be to talk over matters by the fireside, when I 
get home. 

Your affectionate son, 

Seaegext. 

He came by sea to Xew York, and was accompanied by 
quite a party of Mississippians. Judge Wilkinson, -who 
was one of his fellow-passengers, writes : — 

It was during this voyage (which, owing to long and frequent 
calms, was unusually protracted) that I had full evidence of the 
surprising stores of his capacious and retentive memory. He 
would recline upon the quarter-deck and, hour after hour, 
rehearse from Shakspeare, Spender, Milton, Byron, Scott, and 
all the chief poets of England, page by page, in the finest style. 
Many of the best passages I afterwards recognized, as he would 
reproduce them in his pubHc speeches. He kept us all in excel- 
lent spirits during the long voyage; although, with his charac- 
teristic impatience of quiet, he would sometimes wish for a storm 
as a relief from the dead calm of the sea. His mind was in per- 
fect tune. He was not then distinguished in the great world — 
it was just before his genius burst upon the country in all its 
splendor. The commonest incident that happened in the ship, 
was sure to call forth from him some highly poetical and happy 
illustration, or witty remark; sometimes borrowed, but almost 
always original. A dolphin, for example, was taken ; and as it 
died on the deck, he gave us those beautiful lines from Byron 
about " parting day.'"* 



* Parting day- 
Dies like the dolphin, whom each pang imbues, 
With a new color, as it gasps away, 
The last still loveliest, till — 'tis gone — and all is gray. 

-^r-hjin,- TTnrolrl, cnnfo TV, stanza 20. 



160 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

WelJ, at last the vessel anchored in port, and a day or two 
afterwards, we agreed to take an excursion together to West 
Point. Here, being entire strangers to every one, we sat at the 
table d'hote opposite a party quite distinguished in appearance, 

one of whom was the attractive and beautiful Miss W , now 

Madame L , of Mobile. Some courtesies of the table passed 

between our parties, and after we had withdrawn from the 
dining parlor, Miss W. sent a gentleman to us to request an 
introduction. Peextiss declined — he did not, at that time, fre- 
quent the company of ladies — but, upon hearing who the lady 
was, I readily complied. At the end of a pleasant interview I, 
after a long search, found P. lying in the shade on the bank of 
the river, and in a somewhat sad and contemplative mood. I 
rallied him upon his want of gallantry ; and for the only time I 
ever heard him, he alluded most feelingly to the dwarfed and 
crippled condition of one portion of his body, alleging tliat as 
his reason for not desiring, and even shunning, the society of 
ladies ; and he w^ould not be persuaded that any man could 
possess attractions sufficient to obscure such a defect as his. 

Accompanied by his eldest sister, who was awaiting him 
in jSlew York, he reached Gorham in July. He had been 
absent eight years. The joy of his return it were vain to 
describe. I was at Brunswick, and first learned of his arrival 
home by a note from himself, saying he was at the hotel. 
Hastening thither, I found him sitting in a retired room, 
and absorbed, seemingly, in deep thought. He was musing, 
doubtless, upon the past, and upon the varied fortunes 
which had attended him since, nine years before, he bade 
adieu to College scenes. His appearance, at this time, was 
very striking ; and arrested the eye of the most casual 
observer. When animated by conversation, every feature 
of his countenance glowed with intellectual beauty ; his 
smile was peculiarly radiant ; the tones of his voice were 
clear and persuasive ; while the shape of his mouth and the 
w^hole carriao'c of his head crave assurnncf of an indomitable 



FIRST VISIT HOME. 161 

will. His mother, at first, thought him greatly altered, 
but in a few clays the boyish looks came back, and be 
seemed to her, just as he did on the day, of setting out for 
the Far West. 

He took much delight in revisiting the old homestead — 
fishing again in the Great Brook — calling upon the old 
neighbors and his numerous friends at the village and in 
Portland. But it was in the inner home circle that he 
seemed most happy and most like himself. His manner 
towards his mother was still the same as aforetime ; only 
to the artless love and devotion of boyhood, there was 
added a certain tone of deepened respect and deference, 
which well became his change of years. Not less striking 
was his bearing towards his sisters. His intercourse with 
them was marked by a tender a-ffection, delicacy, and manly 
gentleness, which reflected the very spirit of romantic cour- 
tesy. This journey home was to him a Irolj pilgrimage. 
For years it had been fondly meditated in lonely hours at 
Yicksburg ; and when he reached the domestic shrine, his 
heart seemed gladdened as by the payment of a solemn, 
long-neglected vow. How quickly the bright hours were 
spent in talking over the past, enjoying the fleet present, 
and laying plans for the future ! 

Thus passed away his first visit North ; a visit which 
served to bind him yet more closely to his New England 
home 

TO niS MOTHEE AND SIS TEES. 

ViCKSBURG, /Sept. 19, 1S35. 

Mt Deae Mothee axd Sistees : — 

I arrived safely at Yicksburg about a week since, 
and went immediately into the country to attend a court, which 
had commenced a day or two before. Had I been a few days 
later it would have caused me considerable injury ; for I have 
got some very good fees by being present. 



162 MEIIOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

I find Diy friends all well, and our little town uncommonly 
quiet, notAvithstanding the trouble which has occurred here 
during the summer. There is no danger of any further diffi- 
cuUies, and unfortunate as was the necessity of taking the strong 
measures which were adopted to rid the place of a gang of 
ruflaans who had infested it for years with impunity, yet the 
result is most excellent— not only in regard to this place but 
throughout the Southern country. There is hardly an individual 
in the State, who does not approve of the course taken by the 
citizens of Yicksburg. 

The excitement growing cut of the insurrection of the slaves 
has subsided, and not the slightest danger is now anticipated. 
During the prevalence of the alarm, there were, throughout the 
State, six white men and about fifteen negroes hanged. I think 
the severe measures which were pursued, will prevent a recur- 
rence of similar events— at least for a long period of time. It 
ought certainly to serve as a warning to the abolitionists, not 
only of their own danger but of the great injury they are doing 
the slaves themselves, by meddling with them. 

I wrote you from Louisville, informing you that I had met S., 
and tarried a day with him in Cincinnati. He was well, looked 
well, and said he was doing well. He promised to write ; but 
he seems to have such an antipathy to a pen, that I doubt if he 

will. 

I am in daily expectation of a letter from one of you. I 
suppose Anna will have returned from New York, and be off 
for Ipswich, by the time this reaches you. George must write 
me all about Commencement, and Abby too. My love to you 
all. Remember me to our friends. Good bye. 

Ever your affectionate, 

Seaegent. 



TO niS SISTEPw ANNA. 

Yicksburg, Bee. 10, 1835. 
Deae Sistee: — 

I received your kind favor of Oct. last, some two 
weeks since, and should have written in return before this, but 



LETTERS. 163 

I have been quite ill from an accident, which happened to me 
about three weeks ago, and from which I have just recovered. 

I was eating dinner, and by some chance, a small piece of 
broken glass got into my glass, and in drinking I swallowed it. It 
lacerated my throat \evj much and I have been laid up by it till 
within a day or two. I am now entirely recovered, and as well 
as I ever was in my life, but I have had a pretty severe time 
of it, I assure you, I have not written mother about it at 
all, as it will only worry her, and as there is no harm done, per- 
haps it's not worth while she should know anything of it.* 

I am very glad yon are so well contented with Ipswich. 
Indeed it was no small undertaking for you to go alone, and 
introduce yourself at a strange place; and I would give a silver 
penny to have seen how demure you looked perched up in the 
stage- coach, and starting off like a young knight-errantess to 
seel: your fortune. JSTone but Yankee girls have such enterprise, 
I assure you. Don't stint yourself at all in your expenses, 
and provide yourself fully with all the books and everything 
else, which you want. 

I told you in my last letter, that I had had the great honor of 
being elected a member of the Legislature from the notorious 
town of Yicksburg. In about three weeks the Legislature com- 
mences its session, and I shall spend the winter at the seat of 
Government — mahing laws instead of expounding them. I 
shall be busier this winter than I ever was in my life before, 
and you must not be surprised if I do not even find time to 
write as often as usual. You must not however fail to write me 
often, and good long epistles. I think you have an uncommon 
faculty in letter-writing, which you ought to ctdtivate. I admire 
your letters, and assure you, there is no gratification which I 
receive greater than in their perusal. Write me as often as 
you cau, and don't wait for regular answers, and tell me every 



*Th-.s casualty was much more sei-ious than he represents it. For several 
days his hfe hung by a single thread : humanly speaking, nothing saved him but 
his buoyancy of spii-it, and the extraordinary vigor of his constitution. Some time 
afterwards, he gave me a very interesting account of his state of mind in prospect 
of death.— Ed. 



164 MEMOIR OF S. 3. PRENTISS. 

thing you can think about. My love to you, and all the rest of 

the folks. Goodbye. 

Your aflectionate brother, 

Seaegext. 



TO HIS YOUNGEST BEOTHEE. 

YiCKSBURG, Dec. 28, 1835. 

Deae Geoege: — 

I am absolutely stealing a few moments from my 
professional engagements to drop you these lines, lest you might 
suppose something evil had happened to me. In truth my 
business presses upon me in an unusual manner. Three of our 
most important courts are about to commence their sessions 
at the seat of Government, in all of which I am largely engaged ; 
at the same time commences the session of our Legislature, of 
which honorable body, I beheve I have informed you, I am an 
unworthy member. This session of the Legislature will be an 
extremely important and laborious one, more so than any other 
that has ever occurred in the State. It will, probably, be pro- 
tracted till spring; so you see that between making laws 
and expounding them, I shall have a busy time of it for the 
next three or four months. We have, among other things, to 
elect a United States Senator in the place of Poindexter. | 

"We have (the Whigs) gained a great triumph already in the 
election of a Whig Governor, and a Whig majority in both 
branches of Legislature. We hope to finish our victory by the • * 
reelection of Poindexter. At any rate. Van Burenism, Avhich 
heretofore has been all-powerful, is now dead in this State. But 
a truce to politics. My health and business are both good, as 
are also my spirits. Could I drop in occasionally and see you 
all, after the labors of the day are over, I should want nothing 
further to complete my happiness. 

I anticipate a great deal of pleasure in seeing you next year, 
in this country. .You must certainly come when your engage- 
ment is out with the Academv. I had a letter some time since 

from Reuben N , who proposes coming to this country. 

I have promised to to what I can for him, if he comes. What 



COMMENCEMENT OF HIS POLITICAL LIFE. 165 

does mother say about moving into Portland, or to ISTew York I 
If I have not time to write as often as usual this winter, I shall 
have time to read; so write often. My love to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



We approach now the period when his public life may be 
said to have commenced. Soon after returning South, he 
was elected a representative from Warren County to the 
State Legislature, and for the next eight years he was, with 
occasional intervals, ardently engaged in the toil and strife 
of politics. What he thought of this new vocation will 
appear from his letters. When he first went to the South- 
west, and for several years afterwards, he took little interest 
in the party questions of the day. But it was impossible 
for a young lawyer of his talents, eloquence and jDatriotic 
impulses, to remain long an indifferent observer of public 
affairs. He could not help forming his own opinions about 
what was going on in the political w^orld — nor, once formed, 
could he help boldly expressing them. He became early a 
warm admirer of Henry Clay, and conceived, at the same 
time, a corresponding dislike to the spirit and policy of 
Gen. Jackson and his party. 

There are many persons in Mississippi who remember his 
earliest political speeches, and think they were rarely, if 
ever, surpassed for wit, sarcasm, or argumentative power, by 
those of his maturer years. How many an amusing scene is 
recalled by those youthful philippics against Old Hickory ! 

Judge Wilkinson writes : — 

I first met your brother at a Circuit Court, for the county of 
-, then a newly settled and border country. The accom- 



modations at our log-cabin hotel were none of the best; and Mr. 
Prentiss was wittily, and playfully, discoursing of their character 



166 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

to the lawyers, who had gathered around him. Attracted by 
peals of laughter, the host— a man of giant proportions and 
Herculean strength— approached in the rear of your brother, 
and without his kuowletlge. He hstened to the exquisite humor 
of Peentiss as long as he could bear it, then suddenly and 
abruptly confronting him — " Mr. P." he exclaimed with an oath, 
"if you don't like my house, sir, you can leave it. There is 
another tavern in town, sir." " That other tavern is just the 
place I don't care to go to," quickly replied your brother, " for 
it is worse than yours by far." The "other tavern" keeper 
was at daggers drawn with our host, and this was the very best 
reply he could have made to avoid a knock-down. This was 
proven by the event, for the grim and angry features of the 
giant Boniface soon relaxed into a forgiving and satisfied smile; 
and Mr. Peextiss was always, after this, a great pet with him. 

Soon afterwards I witnessed another display of his self-posses- 
sion and readiness under trying circumstances. He was making 
one of his first stump speeches, if nbt his very first, in the then 
lacJciDOods county of Holmes. It was a powerful invective 
against Gen. Jackson, for his removal of the members of his first 
Cabinet. "While he was summing up the excuses the Democratic 
party alleged for the act, he was suddenly confronted by a 
fellow holding up a large flag, with nothing on it but the words 
"Hurrah for Jackson!" inscribed with large letters. The man 
advanced slowly towards the speaker, whose eye no sooner 
caught the pennant than he exclaimed, without the slightest 
perturbation — " In short, fellow citizens, you have now before 
you the sum and substance of all the arguments of the party — 
Eurrali for Jackson ./" The effect was electrical, and the poor 
man slunk away, trailing his banner after him. 

The Legislature met the first Monday in January. Mr. 
Prentiss was appointed Chairman of the Judiciary Com- 
mittee, the duties of which he seems to have discharged 
with much diligence. He spoke frequently during the 
session, taking part in almost every important discussion ; 
but the reports of his speeches are extremely scanty. 



SPEECHES IX THE LEGISLATUHE. 16t 

Enough, however, remains — even in the absence of all other 
testimony — to indicate, not only the prompt, effective and elo- 
quent debater — but the ardent patriot and ripe statesman. 
In looking over these brief records, one perceives every- 
where fine traces of political intelligence, wisdom, and up- 
rightness ; they sparkle, like dust of gold, amidst the rubbish 
of ordinary legislative verbosity. His principal speeches 
were upon a resolution, recommending that a convention be 
called to form a new constitution ; and on a bill to allow the 
K'ew Orleans and Nashville Kailroad Company to extend 
their charter through the State of Mississippi. Both sub- 
jects led to long and elaborate discussion ; involving, as 
they did, fundamental questions of public policy. Some 
of the ablest men in the State were members of this Leo-isla- 
ture and, nearly all of them participated warmly in the 
debates, 

Mr. Prentiss was in favor of locating the Xew Orleans 
and Nashville Railroad east of Pearl River, believing it 
would promote a rapid development of the agricultural and 
commercial resources of that portion of the State. A few 
sentences from his speech on this question, are worth quot- 
ing — '' A railroad running through the eastern tier of coun- 
ties, would be like giving them another Mississippi. It 
would make them the rivals of Portland, his native town, in 
the lumber trade. They could supply more and better tim- 
ber than Maine — and it was due to that part of the State, 
that they should be enabled to make the trial. He wished to 
see the day come, when the cry, now raised against JN'atchez, 
would be put down — not by building up Natchez alone, but 
by building up towns of equal splendor, in the east and other 
sections of the State. He was accused of opposing Vicks- 
burg, because he did not oppose the Natchez Eailroad. 
He was aware that road might injure his own town ; but 



168 MEMOIR OF S, S. PRENTISS. 

he did not stand here the representative of Yicksburg alone 
— to the iiijary of other sections ; he went for the good of 
the whole. Local interests ought to give way to the gene- 
ral interests of the State. 

"On our whole western boundary flowed a river as bene- 
ficial to the country as if the salt sea washed our shore. 
We could hardly imagine the day when the light canoe was 
the only craft on this Father of Waters. Steamboats, 
larger than the ships of the ocean, were in the daily habit 
of passing up and down — and scattering their rich products 
from every part of the world, amongst the inhabitants of 
the valley of the Mississippi. Though remote from the sea, 
we enjoyed, in fact, all the advantages of a maritime State. 
Steamboats were the finest vessels in the world — and he 
was of opinion that, were the ocean always smooth, the 
time would soon come when another sail would never be 
unfurled to the breeze. And he thought it not unlikely 
that the improvements of the age would sometime effect this 
purpose, and that, instead of stopping the towboats at the 
Balize, they will find their way across the raging billows, 
defying the winds and waves, and transporting their sisters 
of the ocean into a foreign port. 

" We have received one great advantage — a salubrious 
climate, and a rich soil for agriculture. But should we, 
on this account, throw away every other blessing? He 
thoiight it would be the part of wisdom, to foster and pro- 
tect our other resources. We were not legislating alone 
for the present generation. Because we were now basking 
in a rich and luxuriant soil, and getting good prices for the 
products of our agriculture, we had no security that this 
state of things would always last. Our soil was a treasury 
superior to the gold of Peru, or the diamonds of Golconda. 
But let us see if it will be always so. There were few 
things that could be produced on so great a portion of the 



LETTERS. 169 

earth's surface as cotton. From thivty-two degrees of 
north, to the same degree of south latitude, it was almost- 
an indigenous plant. 

" In Texas the banner of liberty had already been 
unfurled, and the eyes of the civilized world were upon her. 
She would, unquestionably, achieve her independence ; and 
would be rich in her agricultural resources. She might, 
one day, surpass even Mississippi herself, in the production 
of cotton. Mexico and South America would follow in her 
train ; he looked to the time when they would have a popu- 
lation free and intelligent as our own. Their soil and 
climat6" were superior to ours ; theirs, too, would be a 
cotton country — and it is not at all improbable that the 
produce of the raw material will, at no distant day, far 
outstrip the demand. If that day came, we should then 
lament the short-sighted policy we are now pursuing." 

During this session of the Legislature the banking capital 
of Mississippi was increased twelve millions ; thus making 
the whole banking facilities of the State, some twenty-one 
millions. And it was only for want of two or three votes, 
that the notorious Union Bank, of fifteen milHons, failed to 
be incorporated. Probably no one, at the time, discerned 
in this sudden and enormous inflation of paper currency, 
the mischief, that was to follow. 

TO niS YOUNGEST BKOTHER. 

ViCESBCRG, February 29, 1836. 
Deae Geoege: — 

I have just got home from Jackson, and take the 
first leism-e moments I have had for two months to write you. 
The Legislature adjourned on Saturday last, after a noisy and 
laborious session ; and, I assure you, I took a fall share both in 
the labor and the noise. Of all the occupations I have ever 

8 



ItO MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

tried, I am decidedly of opinion, that making laws is the most 
obnoxious to comfort and happiness. I am sick of it ; and if 
the people would permit it, would resign forthwith ; but as my 
constituents seem perfectly satisfied with my services, I suppose | 

I shall have to hold on another year — the term for which I was | 

elected. 

I have received two letters from you, and one from Anna, 
since I wrote last. In your letters yon have asked my opinion 
of the propriety of moving into Portland. So far as my opinion 
will have any weight, I give it unhesitatingly in favor of moving. 
Indeed, if I recollect right, I urged it when I was at home. In 
regard to mother herself, I think it would increase her comfort 
and happiness. She would live with less trouble and anxiety ; 
Lave more of her friends around her ; and, in fine, enjoy in every 
respect, greater advantages and suffer fewer inconveniences, 
than she can possibly expect from a residence in Gorham. But 
to the girls the greatest advantage Avould result in moving 
to Portland; and on their account particularly, I am very 
anxious for it. I can see no objection in the world ; the only 
one that could be raised is the additional expense, and that 
it will afibrd me pleasure to obviate, By-the-by, I have gained 
the important suit, which prevented me from coming home 
summer before last, and I expect to make at least twenty thous- 
and dollars out of it. It will, however, be two or three years, 
probably, before I realize the property. 

I have nothing new to tell you. My health is good, and so is 
business — rather more so than I like. I am getting very tired 
of the practice : I wish you would study law, and take my 
place ; it is not half so villainous a profession as you imagine. 

I shall write to W to-night ; I have not congratulated him 

yet on his beautiful boy — of whom he seems to have a very 
exalted opinion. Tell Abby she is a very lazy correspondent ; 1 
have not had a letter from her for a good long time. My love 
to mother and to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



LETTERS HOME. 171 

TO niS SIS5ER ANNA. 

ViCKSBCEG, March 26, 1836. 

My Deak Sistee: — 

I have been guilty of an offence for which I most 
earnestly entreat your pardon — though I shall not easily forgive 
myself. I have neglected, for the space of three months, writing 
to one of the best and sweetest sisters in the world. 'Tis true, 
during that time I have been overwhelmed with business, and 
my powers both of body and mind continually taxed to the 
utmost extent of their capacity. But I do not esteem this a 
good excuse, for I might have written ; and, in fact, have 
frequently sat down for that purpose, and have thrown aside the 
thoughts and cares of business, as a weary man would lay down 
a heavy burden. But tlien, it was such a luxury to sit and 
think about home, and imagine you all gathered round, — 
mother, and A., and G. and yourself — that time would fly away, 
and I would find myself compelled to postpone writing to 
some future period — when the same thing would happen 
again. Indeed, should I write every time and all I think about 
you, it would take all your time to read my epistles. But as 
the little children say at school, "If you'll overlook my negli- 
gence this time, I won't do so any more." 

Our Legislature adjourned about a month since. Imme- 
diately after I went to New Orleans,— from whence I have just 
returned — and whom think you I saw there ? Just as I was 
about to step on board the steamboat to leave the city, I 
stumbled upon brother S. He had arrived the day before, 
and it was the merest accident in the world that I found him. 
He was- in good health and spirits ; inquired very eagerly about 
you all, and promises to come home next summer with me. 
You must write him at Cincinnati, which he calls his head- 
quarters. 

In your last, you ask me whether I would advise you to stay 

^t I two years. I w^ould advise you, my dear sister, to stay 

there just as long as you please, or at any other school you may 
select. I wish you to liave all the advantages of education, 
which the country will afford. You do not know what obliga- 



1T2 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

tiou I am under to you : I oAve all my success in this country to 
the fact of having so kind a mother, and such sweet and affec- 
tionate sisters as Abby and yourself. It has been my only 
motive to exertion; withoiit it, I should long since have thrown 
myself away. Even now, when, as is frequently the case, I feel 
perfectly reckless both of life and fortune, and look with con- 
tempt upon them both, the recollection that there are two or 
three hearts that beat for me with real affection, even though 
far away — comes over me as the music of David did over the 
dark spirit of Saul. I still feel that I have something worth 
living for. Judge then how much greater are my obligations to 
you than yours can ever become to me. Write me very often. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



TO HIS SISTER ABBT. 

ViCKSBURG, April 16, 1836. 

My Dear Sister: — 

I wrote to you a few weeks since, on my return 
from ISTew Orleans, informing you that I had seen S. there, 
and that he was well, and doing well. I have had the pleasure 
of seeing him again this morning. His boat stopped here a few 
hours on her passage down the river. He is in excellent health 
and good spirits. He sends his love to you all. 

I have not had a letter from Gorham for two months or more. 
I got one this morning from Anna, which was a great treat, 
though she berated me most unmercifully for not writing her 
oftener, and unlike the criminals, whom I am in the habit of 
defending, I can't plead "not guilty." I wrote her, however, |^i 

about three weeks since, and directed to I , • ^ 

'Next year I shall be certain to come home and see you again, 
and indeed would do so this summer, but my partner wishes to 

go away this summer, which will keep me here. Eeuben IST 

came here a few daj's since. I have not as yet been able to get 
him a school, but think I shall do so shortl}^ Teaching, how- 
ever, is not as good a business here as it used to be. 



LETTERS HOME. 113 

My own business is very flourishing ; I have as much as I can 
attend to. I hope I shall see George out here this fall. I wish 
he could reconcile it to himself to study Law. He could make 
a fortune here. My partner will retire from practice in the 
course of a year, and I could take G. into partnership. At 
any rate, I wish he would not make up his mind irrevocably as to 
a profession till he has seen a little more of the world, and had 
a better opportunity of judging for himself. I am very anxious 
for a letter from home, and hope to have one soon. My love to 
you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



TO THE SAME. 

ViCKSDURO, Sept. 3, 1836. 

Dear Sister: — 

I have just returned from Kentucky, where I have 
been spending three or four weeks. My last letter, I believe, 
informed you of my intention to do so, and also continued a 
promise to write you of my adventures in the "dark and 
bloody ground." I spent my time very i)leasantly, visiting first 
Louisville, then the Harrodsburg Springs, Lexington, and vari- 
ous other portions of that beautiful State. It is, indeed, a very 
beautiful country, and many parts of it put me strongly in minci 
of JSTew England. 

I experienced a great deal of hospitahty, and was altogether 
much delighted with my trip. "While at Lexington, I called on 
Mr. Clay, at his residence about a mile from town. He knew 
me, I having had letters to him when at Washington City, three 
years ago. He wished me to stay and call on him again ; but 
my engagements were made to leave Lexington that day, and I 
had to decline, which I regretted. Mr. Clay has a tasteful, but 
by no means splendid residence — surrounded, however, by the 
most highly cultivated grounds in all Kentucky. But enough of 
my visit for the present ; I can tell you all about it when I see 
you next summer. 



174 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

I am glad you have determined to go back to I this 

winter. I want you and Abby to understand t)iat it is my anxious 
wish, that you should both avail yourselves of all the advantages 
which the country will afford for education in its most liberal 
and extended sense. My warmest love to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegext. 



TO HIS SISTER ABBT. 

ViCKSBUKG, N^OV. 2, 1S36. 

Dear Abby: — 

I have refrained, for some time, writing to you in 
the daily expectation of George's arrival. You may judge how 
gratified I was to find him this morning seated quietly in my 
oflSce, awaiting my lazy motions in rising. He arrived here last 
night (in the night), and is in excellent health and spirits. I am 
rejoiced to see him, and only regret that I cannot gather all our 
little family group around me to partake of my enjoyment. As 
to his voyage down the mighty Mississippi, and his adven- 
tures since he left home, I shall leave them to his own pen. 

At Cincinnati he met with S., who is well, though he has 
been somewhat indisposed during the summer. TTe expect 
him down here in the course of a month. G. and myself 
"have had several long chats about his views and prospects — 
though as yet we have come to no definite conclusion on the sub- 
ject. I have, however, I think, persuaded him not to think of 
wasting his time in the ungrateful task of teaching. My increas- 
ing prosperity in business will enable me without inconvenience, 
to furnish him with the means of finishing his education. This 
I have offered, and I think he will accept my offer; so next 
year you may expect to see both of us. 

I had the pleasure, yesterday, of receiving a long and sisterly 
epistle from A., for which I thank her kindly, and the like of 
which I hope to receive often from you both. I have nothing 
new to tell you. I am in excellent health, and right busy I assure 
you. Our little city is increasing at an amazing rate. "We have 



LETTERS. 115 

had some eight or ten ships directly at this place during the last 
two months. This morning the brig arrived here, on which 
G. shipped his baggage at New York. This is the first year 
ships ever ascended so far up a river — 500 or 600 miles. I 
shalljeave G. to act as chronicler of whatever is interesting to 
liim, and with my love to all, bid you " good night." 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seap.gent. 



TO HISBEOTHEE WILLIAM, NEW YORK. 

VicKSBURG, November 16, 1836. 

Dear Brotiiee: — 

I have been sometime indebted to you for a letter, 
and I should feel more compunction on that account, were it not 
that I have so often had you in the same predicament. 

G. arrived here some ten days since, in good health and 
spirits ; and I need not t^ell you how glad I was to see him. He 
has, with my advice, given up at present the idea of keeping 
school, and intends to pursue his studies this winter. He is 
delightfully situated, having been invited by my partner Judge 
Guion, to spend the winter at liis residence, about a mile from 
town. But he will, I doubt not, tell you more than I can 
about his situation and views; and, indeed, he has already, I 
believe, written to j'ou. He appears well pleased with tho 
country, and says that he would not take anything for the 
advantage he has derived from his travels. 

You ask me about my speculation^ by which I am to make a 
fortune. It is not in Texas Lands, I assure you. I have as 
small an opinion of that kind of speculation as you can have. 
Whether I succeed or not, it is impossible to say. I think, how- 
ever, I shall; it will be decided this Avinter. My speculation 
consists in having purchased an interest in a portion of land in 
the town of Vicksburg, which is claimed by the town as Com- 
mons^ or public property. I purchased of the original proprie- 
tors of the town, and the matter is now pending in a suit, which 
will be decided by the Supreme Court of the State, this winter. 



176 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

If I succeed, it will make me wealthy, which I care little 
about on my own account, but much on account of others. I 
liave never s]3oken definitely of the subject to the folks at home^ 
because if I am disappointed, I do not wish them to be so. 

You must have had a pleasant trip to Maine this summer. I 
should have rejoiced to have been with you. I shall be next 
summer, as I am determined at all events to make another visit 
North, at that time. Pray, write me oftener, and tell me how 
you are coming on in your business, for I feel mucb interest in 
it ; and be assured that my own success is the success of all my 
brothers and sisters. I have nothing new to tell you-. The 
election has just taken place, but the returns are not sufficient 
to warrant a positive opinion. I think, however, this State has 
gone for "White. My love to you all, 

Your aifectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



In the preceding chapter allusion has been made to his 
rides on horseback, while attending the courts in the inte- 
rior of the State. This may be a proper place to speak of 
the other mode of travelling, mentioned so often already in 
bis letters, and which formed no unimportant phase of his 
moving life. We refer, to his journeying on steamboats, 
particularly upon the Mississippi. From his settlement 
in Vicksburg until his marriage, no small portion of his 
time was passed in the floating palaces which enliven 
the bosom of this majestic river. Aside from the calls of 
business, there was an excitement and variety in this mode 
of existence, which agreed well with his disposition. He 
was generally known on the river ; and everybody that did 
not know him, was anxious to make his acquaintance, 
or at least to get a glimpse of him. The steamboats 
between Yicksburg and jS^atchez were to him little more 
than ferry-boats, upon which he was perpetually flying to 
and fro. 



HIS JOURXEYIXG OX STEAMBOATS. Ht 

It is not surprising, therefore, that he had an affectionate, 
home-like feehng towards the " Father of Waters,"* or that 
its grand phenomena, and the strange aspects of human 
character, upon its busy current, should have made an 
indelible impression upon his observing and plastic mind. 
Who, indeed, can sail upon this tremendous flood, for the 
first time, without a vivid sense of wonder and sublimity ? 
What a mystery seems to enshroud its origin, thousands of 
miles away amid tne eternal snows of the Xorthwest ! 
What great rivers — Missouri, Ohio, Red, and Arkansas, to 
say nothing of innumerable lesser streams — hasten to pay 
it tribute, and to swell its "wealth of waters" as they rush 
onv/ard to the sea ! 

But to the eye of a stranger from the Xorth, even the 
river itself was surpassed in. interest by the grotesque and 
shifting forms of humanity, which, like dissolving views in a 
panorama, presented themselves in animated succession from 
New Orleans to the mouth of the Ohio. The following 
sketches, written by a traveller about this time, depicting 
scenes in the vicinity of Yicksburg, through which Mr. Pren- 
tiss was passing so often, will not, perhaps, be unaccept- 
able to the reader, or be deemed here out of place. 

We are now ploughing our noisy way between forest-lined 
shores of cotton-wood on one side, and cypress, maple, oak and 
other heavy timber, as the boatmen term it, on the other. The 
cotton-wood is always found on the concave side of the river, 



* According to Mr. Thorpe, this is a poetical, and not the true, rendering of 
Mississippi. "From the most numerous Indian tribe in the Southwest, the 
Choctaws, we derive the name. With that tribe, the two simple adjectives, Missah 
and Sippah, are used when describing the most familiar things ; but these two 
words— though they are employed thus familiarly when separated— compounded, 
form the most characteristic name we can get of this wonderful river. Missah, 
Hterally, ' old big,' SippaJi, ' strong' Old-big-stro.vg ; and this name is eminently 
appropriate to the Mississippi."— TAe Rive of the Bee-TTunUr, p. 95. 

8* 



1*J8 MEilOTR OF S. S. TRENTISS. 

for here are the constant alluvial deposits, on which, as soon as 
the water leaves it, the young cotton-tree shoots np in groves, 
and in two years is ten feet high. A cotton-tree forest will 
grow to the medium height in ten years. As the force of the 
current is thrown towards the convex side, that is constantly 
undermined; hut for every foot of soil and every ancient tree 
that falls into the river, a foot of land and a new tree (cotton 
however) springs up on the opposite shore. Such is the pecu- 
liarity of this great river, on whose banks dissolution and crea- 
tion are constantly going forward. On the inner or concave side 
the current is less forcible, and ascending boats, heaving the 
lead as they go, hug it as closely as is safe, crossiug from 
point to point, as the meandering course of the river alter- 
nately changes the concave shore from one side to the other. 
Yesretation is at least two weeks behind that of New Orleans, 
and in looking upon the foliage of the trees, we seem to have 
retrograded that space of time. We have just rounded a bend 
of the river, which presented features truly magnificent. Close 
to the water's edge, in the shape of a crescent two miles in 
length, extended a girdle of cotton-trees, or rather bushes, three 
feet high and ten feet wide, the growth of the last seasou, upon 
the alluvial deposit. A second girdle twice the height of this, 
and of a dark green, rose behind it, and behind this a third, and 
then a fourth and so on, rising one above the other, each a 
darker shade of green, in beautiful order, like the benches of an 
amphitheatre, till they terminated in the tall forest-Hne which 
formed the eighth belt. The sun was shining brightly aslant this 
striking scene, increasing by the rehef of its lights and shadows 
its natural magnificence. In the absence of other objects to 
attract his attention, the traveller can often find amusement in 
sitting on the guards and observing the varied character of the 
gorgeous old forests through which he is moving. A tree as 
hoary as time, its huge hmbs gnarled and twisted into gigantic 
knots, its branches (themselves huge trunks in size) flinging 
their scathed and rugged forms into the air, will sometimes 
attract his eye, and if he is at all romantic, or a poet, or a sober 
lover of nature, will delight him and give him food for study, 



SCENERY ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 1*19 

poetry or meditation. How many stories of past centuries may 
such an old forest-king relate ! 

" Say, Druid Oak, canst thou the story tell ?" 

There is a young iady on board, intellectual, romantic and a 
beauty, who is ready to go crazy with delight when an old tree, 
uglier, more gnarled and more picturesque than another, happens 
to meet her eye : " Oh ! what a delightful good old patriarch for 
a foreground. See how that stern savage monarch flings his 
arms to the sky, as if in defiance! What majesty in the spread 
of those limbs ; and how gracefully the grey coat of its huge 
trunk is relieved by the folds of that grape-vine !" 

We have just passed several flatboats tied to the shore; the 
back-water of our paddles made a great commotion among them, 
and as usual, our deck hands began to laugh at them and they 
to shout back. " Hand that steamboat here " shouted a flat- 
boatman in a red shirt and blue linsey-wolsey trowsers, " and 
I'll take take it home for the old woman to make tea in." " Hand 
me that hand-spike," shouted a little squat fellow with red hair, 
"and I'll pick my teeth with it." " Stop that boat and let me 
light my pipe." "Shovel away them niggers, pitch it in," 
yelled another to the firemen, " or the gentlemen passengers 
will go without supper." " Let off your steam or you'll all go 
to the Dickins together." " Shut up that flatboat and I'll give 
a pic' for it to keep my bacco' in," roared another. When we 
got too far off for words to be distinguished, the belligerents 
began to yell, shout, clap their hands, and make all sorts of 
hideous and unearthly noises ; as the increasing distance render- 
ed these indistinct, a pistol was fired in bravado from one of 
the flatboats and immediately answered by the sharp crack of a 
rifle from the forward part of our steamer, and then hostilities 
ceased. There is always amusement when a steamer and a flat- 
boat meet ; then Kentucky and Hoosier wit is peculiarly bril- 
liant. The majority of deck passengers on upward-bound boats 
are often flatboatmen, returning home after disposing of their 
freight and boats. Jingling their dollars in the faces of those 



180 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

who are going to market, they brag of bargains and amuse them 
with extravagant tales of the state of the market, which they 
call " bamboozling." The appearance of flatboatmen, with 
their loose, coarse, brown trowsers, red or blue shirts, the 
sleeves drawn up to the shoulders, their rough, determined 
looking faces and athletic limbs, is exceedingly picturesque. 
The life of a fiatboatman is an exceedingly laborious one ; the 
boat committed to the current, does not float idly down to its 
destined port, but the constant exertions of its " hands " are 
requisite to keep it from almost hourly shipwreck ; the current 
of the Mississippi is always sweeping against one or the other 
of its shores, and the flatboat, if left to itself, would be dashed 
against the convex side of every bend — and the wliole course of 
the Mississippi is only a series of bends ; therefore, on turning 
points the utmost vigilance is necessary to work the boat and 
keep it out from the bank against which the natural direction of 
the current would carry it. When the wind blows hard against 
the shore, the utmost exertions of the half dozen muscular men, 
who form the complement of flatboatmen, cannot always enable 
them to counteract the force of both wind and current, and 
many boats are dashed to pieces. From the wrecks vrhich at 
intervals strew the shores of the river, the proportion of boats 
wrecked in their descent must be very large. Sometimes, and 
indeed most usually two boats' crews unite, and with their boats 
secured side by side, by their united strength are better able to 
resist .the current. The old race of ^>?'^f?55'f(972«?. flatboatmen, 
the chief of whom, Mike Fink, the elegant pen of Morgan 
Neville, Esq., has immortalized, is passed away. Flatboatmen 
now are Western farmers, with their sons and hired labor- 
ers, whose lands lie on the river and whose markets are the 
lower towns of the Mississippi. The Yankee farmer loads his 
wagon or sleigh and liauls his produce to the nearest market 
town, the Western farmer loads his boat and floats his produce 
a thousand miles to Vicksburg, Natchez and New Orleans ; the 
Yankee farmer returns home in his empty sleigh or wagon, the 
the Western farmer sells his substitute for a wagon, his boat, 
with his produce, and goes back to liis farm as deck passenger 



SCENES IN THE MISSISSIPPI. 181 

< 

on a steamer. I Lave met with representatives from every 
farming district of the Ohio and upper Mississippi on the Levee 
at New Orleans, a hardy, soher, industrious class, little under- 
stood and often grossly mifi-epresented, under the abused term 
of " Flatboatmen." 

The traveller seldom sees steamboats on the Mississippi unless 
under way. At every landing, however insignificant, flatboats 
are always to be seen loading and unloading, giving employment 
to one or two stores and keeping business, at least, alive. Near 
Princeton a steamboat passed us, and although it was not two- 
thirds across the river, we were unable to read its name, painted 
in large letters on the wheel-house, without a spy-glass. This 
fact will give a Northerner some idea of the breadth of this great 
river.- Shortly afterwards an " ark " floated by. This vessel 
differs from the flatboat, keelboat and broadhorn, in its construc- 
tion. A solid, oblong raft of tiuiber, twelve feet wide and fifty 
or sixty long, is the groundwork. On one end of it is erected of 
rough boards, a sort of covered pen, for cattle and fowls. On 
the other side is a rude inclosure roofed like a house, often con- 
taining a chimney, and in which the family live. If a farmer 
from the neighborhood of Pittsburgh or Cincinnati sees a piece 
of land on the lower Mississippi, in one of his boating expedi- 
tions, which pleases him, he returns home, sells out, builds an 
ark, embarks with his family, and committing himself to the 
waves, after a voyage of five or six weeks, arrives at his new 
home, ties his ark to a tree, removes his house, stock and family 
to dry land, commences chopping down the forest, opens a 
wood-yard, becomes thrifty, buys negroes, grows rich, and is at 
last a planter. Many of the first families in the Southwestern 
country, after travelling to Pittsburg from the Atlantic cities, 
have committed themselves to an ark and so come to this coun- 
try. "We have passed two of these floating houses to-day. On 
the last one, was an old grey-headed man and an equally ancient 
female, comfortably clothed in coarse materials, sunning them- 
selves and smoking their pipes, in the low space left on the bot- 
tom of the ark between the dwelling and the stock-pen. A 
middle-aged stout yeoman in a long-tailed blue jean coat and 



182 MEMOIR OF S. B. PRENTISS. 

snuff-colored trowsers, was standing bareheaded at the long 
paddle which served as a helm, shading his eyes with his hair as 
he stared at our passing boat. Two women in caps and coarse 
but tidy gowns were seated near hiii! on the top of the dwelling 
(which was the upper deck of the ark) knitting. Half a dozen 
white-headed urchins were crowded in a low door, straining 
their eyes at the grand steamboat, and three or four large dogs 
equally curious, were gazing at us from the top of the cow-pen. 
A fire burned on the bottom of the ark, between the two habit- 
able divisions ; the hearth was a rude pile of brick, with an old 
stove-pipe for chimney. The pot was boiling and a third female 
was preparing the evening meal. Two strapping fellows in their 
shirt-sleeves, working mechanically but idly at an oar, two or 
three chickens and a proud cock strutting about, a lamb, which 
appeared licensed to stray from the pen as a pet, the head of a 
good-natured looking cow protruding from a window, completed 
the whole. It was altogether so pretty a picture of domestic 
happiness, that I could not help looking upon it without feehngs 
of envy. 

The flatboat is somewhat similar in its construction to the ark, 
which is the most primitive mode of navigation. The flatboat 
is made to convey freight. It is a covered shed, five or six feet 
high, with a bottom sufficiently strong to sustain it, and imper- 
vious to water. This shed is covered by a double layer of 
boards, laid so as to be water-tight, and bent over a ridge-pole 
running through the centre from stem to stern, so as to form a 
curve sufficient to shed rain. A portion of the boat at the bows, 
which are square, is set off for a caboose and sleeping-place for 
the hands, of which there are usually from four to six. The 
remainder is filled with freight. Some of these boats will carry 
from eight to twelve hundred barrels of flour ; when light, they 
draw but six or eight inches, but when loaded, two feet and a 
half. Some of them are laden altogether with flour, others with 
horses, others with sheep, or pork alive and in barrels, fowls, 
cattle and produce of all kinds ; some are even freighted with 
negroes, purchased in Virginia, and embarked at Guyandotte on 
the Ohio. When flatboats are unladen of their freight, they are 



4 



SCENES OX THE MISSISSIPPI. 183 

sold for what tliey will bring, wliich is from tAventy to sixty 
dollars, and the owners return home for ten dollars on a steam- 
boat. Keelboats are not so commonly seen now as formerly. 
They are in number about as one to ten compared with flatboats. 
They are of similar construction to the freighting canal-boat, 
and used for the same purposes. They are sometimes assisted in 
descending the river by a square sail, and altogether cut a better 
figure than the ark or flatboat. Before the introduction of 
steamboats, the keelboat was the sole medium of river commerce. 
Leaving its freight in Few Orleans, and re-loading with pur- 
chased articles (both comforts and luxuries) it was propelled up 
the Mississippi, with great labor, by poling along the banks of 
the river, and laying to every night. A voyage from Pittsburg 
to New Orleans, at that period, often consumed five months. 
It can now be made in thirty days. The keelboats are now dis- 
posed of with their cargoes at oSTew Orleans, being in great 
demand as oyster barges, for which, with some change, they 
are admirably fitted. The broadhorn is only a larger and squarer 
species of flatboat. 

The river has been very rough all the afternoon. There is 
considerable motion to the boat, and two or three fresh-water 
passengers are complaining of feeling a slight degree of sea- 
sickness ! Sea-sickness on the Mississippi, five hundred miles 
above its mouth ! Nevertheless, the boat rocks, the joints of 
the cabin creak, the lamps swing from side to side, the wind 
roars, and the waves show white caps, and we are in the midst 
of a regular gale of wind. The surface of the country through 
which we are sailing is for a hundred miles only a few feet 
above the level of the river, and the wind sweeps over it 
as it would over a sea.* 

Yicksburg, in 1836-t, was a remarkable place. Like so 
many flourishing towns along the great lakes and rivers of 
the West, it had sprung into existence as if by magic. The 
city was younger than half the children who played about 

* Correspondence of Hie NatcJiez CouHer, April, 1837. 



184 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

its streets.* As the sliipping point for a rich and rapidly 
growing cotton region, its business was very large. Cap- 
ital and population flowed in from every quarter. Mag- 
nificent steamers, freighted with the products of our own 
and distant climes, were perpetually stopping on their 
way to and from New Orleans, Xashville, St. Louis, Cin- 
cinnati, or Louisville ; and rarely did an up-river boat 
arrive without landing one or more passengers in pursuit of 
fortune. Yicksburg was, in fact, a sort of rendezvous for 
planters, lawyers, physicians, schoolmasters, mechanics, 
clerks, and merchants, who, in search of business, were 
emigrating to the Southwest from Kew England, "Virginia, 
North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and other 
parts of the Union. In this respect it was a miniature 
picture of what San Francisco now is in relation to Califor- 
nia. The character and manners of these strange men, as 
they congregated in the hall and dining-room of the princi- 
pal hotel, furnished study for a philosopher. One skilled 
in the art of American physiognomy, could detect, at a 
glance, representatives of every race and tribe, whether 
foreign or domestic, of our great Bepubhcan Family. 

At an earlier period of its history, Yicksburg was 
inhabited chiefly by this class of persons ; interspersed with 
not a few specimens of the genus Uackleg. But the latter 



* Yicksburg is visible nearly ten miles before reacliing it, on going, up the river. 
Its situation is highly romantic ; it is built on a congregation of hills, which slope 
abruptly to the water. From the foot of this irregular side to the summit, the 
dwellings are scattered in the most picturesque manner. The streets parallel with 
the river rise one above the other, so that the galleries of the houses on one often 
project over the roofs of those on the other. Cottages in every shape and form, 
perched on every accessible point on the cliffs, add much to the beauty of the place. 
The population has doubled within four years. The act which cleared the place of 
a moral pestilence is, doubtless, a bad preced^it — but it was the death-blow to a 
system of iniquity, which had got to be stronger than the laws. The commercial 
growth of Yicksburg in the last three years is unprecedented in this region. — Cor- 
respondence of the Natalies CowWe?', April, 1837 



viCKSBURo IX 1836-7. 185 

had been driven off — and the advent of woman had called 
into being many pleasant and cultivated homes. Churches 
and schools were not wanting. The place had outgrown 
the somewhat wild, boisterous temper of its youth, and was 
settling down into an orderly, social and domestic life. 

The years 1835 and 1836 will ever be memorable in the 
annals of this country, for the spirit of reckless speculation 
wliich seized upon all classes in the community, and made 
them frantic in the pursuit of gain. To how many hundreds 
of families throughout Xew England is the phrase Eastern 
Land Speculation still the symbol of pecuniary ruin ! The 
mania spread through the nation ; but there were particu- 
lar points, where it raged with especial violence. One of 
these was Yicksburg. In the autumn of 1836, strangers, 
who had scarcely registered their names at the hotel, were 
eagerly buying city lots ; and perhaps the next week, 
selling them again at an advance of ten, twenty, or thirty 
per cent. In this way, by mere attendance upon auctions, 
every man was expecting soon to be master of a fortune. 
It was a singular infatuation ; but the spring nipped it in 
the bud. Gen. Jackson had laid his strong hand upon the 
currency, and before the ides of March, the whole monetary 
system of the country was gasping beneath the pressure of 
that iron will. There was not a sequestered village or 
hamlet in the land, which did not feel its touch — while the 
great commercial centres were convulsed with terror, dis- 
tress and bankruptcy. In April, 183 T, cotton was selling 
in Xew York at nine and a half cents per pound, which in 
December of the previous year, had been sold for nineteen 
cents per pound. Xo State in the Union was a greater 
sufferer than Mississippi, and perhaps no town in the State 
was so. sorely smitten as Yicksburg. The sudden and extra- 
ordinary fall of cotton deprived the State of nearly two- 
thirds of its expected income ; while lands and lots about 



186 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS, 



Yicksburg, which, in October, were bought with avidity 
at the most extravagant rates, found, in April follow- 
ing, no bidder, at a reduction of two and even three 
hundred per cent. The stranger who came in the autumn 
and departed in the spring, could, with difficulty, believe 
that he had visited, and w^as leaving, one and the same 
place. 



MEETING OF THE LEGISLATURE. 18t 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Adjourned Session of the Legislatm*e— Mr. Prentiss' Speech on the Question of 
admitting the Delegates from the New Counties — Protest against their Admis- 
sion — Resigns his seat. 

JEt. 28. 1837. 

Early in January 1831, the Legislature met pursuant to 
adjournment. One of the first acts of the House of Repre- 
sentatives was to admit as a component part of the body, 
ten persons claiming to represent certain new counties, 
which had been created at the previous session of the same 
Legislature. It is a curious instance of the facilty with 
which a Constitution may be set at naught, when the 
majority choose to do it. The act, however, was not accom- 
plished without vigorous opposition, and a clear prediction 
of the consequences which were likely to ensue. One of 
Mr. Prentiss's speeches on the question, is fortunately pre- 
served, and a better tribute could not be desired to the 
high-toned princijile, the reverence for Law and Constitution, 
which actuated his pubhc life. We give the larger por- 
tion of this speech. Some passages are strikingly prophe- 
tic of coming events in the political history of Mississippi : — 

I had hoped, Mr. Speaker, when the gentleman from Adams 
introduced the resolution which has just been read, that the 
task of opposing it would have been assumed by some one more 
able than myself. Had this been the case, I might have been 



188 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

contented v.'ith a mere vote. But, vieAving this resolution in the 
light I do, I should violate every sense of duty, where I to 
remain silent because others will not speak. Sir, the gentle- 
man from Adams seems to think that the resolution is a matter 
of course, and ought to pass sub silentio. I differ from the gen- 
tleman. He. cannot so easily introduce his Trojan horse within 
these walls. T, for one, will hurl a spear against its hollow 
sides. . 

Sir, I look upon this resolution as a bomb-shell thrown into 
this house. The gentleman from Adams has lighted the match, 
and if this house do not extinguish it — if the heel of the majority 
be not placed upon it — there will be left by its explosion no 
vestige of constitution or law. It may appear to the common 
eye as a little cloud, no larger than a man's hand, but the politi- 
cal prophet v/ill behold in it the ingredients of a tempest. 

I know I labor under many difficulties in opposing it. Popular 
opinion is in favor of it — the gentleman has the wind full in his 
sails — while I must row against an adverse current. I trust, 
however, the very fact that the course I am taking is one upon 
which the public eye will scowl, may afford a guarantee for the 
honesty of my motives. I know well it will be said that I 
am the enemy of the new counties — that I am hostile to the 
rights of the people — that I am opposed to democratic principles, 
and other similar assertions, by which demagogues answer argu- 
ments. — Sir, I throw down, in advance, ray denial to such 
char2;es. ISTo man in this State feels a livelier interest in the 
prosperity of the new counties than I do. No man has watched 
with greater pleasure their rapid increase in wealth, population 
and power; and did not my bath to support the constitution 
stand in my way, no man would welcome their delegation upon 
this floor with a warmer greeting. 

But, sir, I have high constitutional duty before me, from the 
performance of which I will not be deterred by either fear or 
favor — by what has been said of others, or what may- be said of 

myself. 

I am opposed to the resolution introduced by the gentleman 
from Adams, on two grounds. 



SPEECH ON ADMITTING THE NEW-COUNTY DELEGATES. 189 

First — That, under the constitution, the counties embraced in 
the resolution have not a right, as counties, to representation in 
this house, at this session. 

Secondly — That, even if they have the right of representatioo^ • 
the persons claiming seats as representatives from those counties,, 
have not been constitutionally elected. ^l* 

"We will proceed, then, in the first place, to examine the fight' 
of the new counties to representation at this session of the legis- 
lature. I start with this proposition — that the right of repre- 
sentation must be derived from the constitution, and the laws 
made in pursuance thereof. Gentlemen have talked of the 
natural right of representation as if it were something existing 
beyond, and independent of, the constitution. AVill gentlemen 
be so good as to explain to me what they mean by the term ? 
I understand the right of representation to be merely a conven- 
tional right. It has its origin solely in the constitution. It is 
entirely the creature of compact. By the constitutions of some 
States, it is based upon property and population combined, in 
others, upon population alone. A natural right of representation 
is an absurdity. 

Let us, then, look into the constitution of this State, and see 
what are its provisions in relation to representation. 

The first great principle is, that it is based upon free white 
population alone. Property, by our constitution, cannot be 
represented. 

The next provision relates to the mode in which this general 
right of representation shall be exercised. If the right existed 
only in general terms, without any mode pointing out how it 
should be apportioned or exercised, it would be perfectly nuga- 
tory. How could a general provision, giving the right of 
representation to ail the free white population of the State, be 
carried into efiect, unless there was also a provision parcelling it 
out to different portions of the community, and directing the 
mode of its exercise ? A constitution, having no such provision, 
would be still-born. It would have no vitality. No government 
could be set agoing under it. Our constitution, however, is not 
obnoxious to these remarks. It contains within itself ample 



190 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

provisions for enabling the people to avail themselves of their 
general right of representation. The convention which framed 
the instrument, provided, in the 5th section of the schedule, for 
the first legislature or representative body, specifically directing 
how the election should be conducted; and mark you, Mr. 
Speaker, especially directing that writs of election should be 
issued by the president of the convention. The 6th clause of 
the same schedule says : " Until the first enumeration shall be 
made, as directed by this constitution, the apportionment of sen- 
ators and repesentatives among the several districts and counties 
in this State shall remain as at pressent fixed by law." Let us 
examine for a moment, what limitations there were to the 
powers of the first legislature, in relation to its organization — for 
it will throw some hght upon the main question in controversy. 
Could that legislature, before an enumeration, even by a joint 
action of both houses, have increased, at that session, the number 
of senators or representatives beyond the number and apportion- 
ment which by law then existed ? Has not the 6th section of 
the schedule, above cited, positively fixed the number of senators" 
and representatives in the first legislature, and apportioned them 
according to the then existing law? Is not this 6th section a 
constitutional organization of the first legislature, as to numbers 
and apportionment ? Would not the admission of an additional 
number of persons into either branch, before an enumeration had 
taken place, have been a violation of that section of the schedule, 
and a disorganization of that body ? In other words, is not a 
change of constitutional organization disorganization ? 

Now let us advance a step further, and see how the present 
legislature came into existence, and what are the powers of its 
respective branches. Eveny legislature, after the first, must claim 
its constitutional origin from the 9th and 10th sections of the 3d 
article of the constitution, which are as follows : 

Sec. 9. " The legislature shall, at their first session, and at 
periods of not less than every four, nor more than every six years, 
until the year 1845, and thereafter at periods of not less than 
four, nor more than every eight years, cause an enumeration to 
be made of all the free white inhabitants of this State, and the 



SPEECH. 191 

whole number of representatives shall, at the several periods of 
making such enumerations, be fixed by the legislature, and 
apportioned among the several counties, cities or towns entitled 
to separate representation, according to the number of free white 
inhabitants in each, and shall not be less than thirty-six nor 
more than one hundred ; provided, however, that each county 
shall always be entitled to at least one representative." 

Seo. 10. " The whole number of senators shall, at the several 
periods of making the enumeration before mentioned, be fixed 
by the legislature and apportioned among the several districts, 
to be eslabhshed by law, according to the number of free white 
inhabitants in each, and shall never be less than one-fourth, nor 
more than one-third, of the whole number of representatives." 

Here are the two sections of the constitution under which the 
present legislature was organized, so far as the number of the 
senators and representatives is concerned. 

When this session of the legislature commenced, on the first 
of January, 1836, each senator came from a district to which the 
right of senatorial representation had been previously apportion- 
ed by law, and every representative took his seat by virtue of a 
law of apportionment giving to that portion of the country which 
he claimed to represent a right to that amount or portion of 
representation. Did not the legislature of the State of Mississippi, 
at the commencement of this session, to wit : on the first of 
January, 1836, comprise the whole representative power of the 
government nnder the constitution ? and was not the whole free 
white population of this State represented, at that time, upon 
this floor ? The number of the house of representatives was sixty- 
four, which number had been fixed by an act of the legislature, 
passed in December, 1833 ; and that number was, by said act, 
apportioned, in pursuance of the 9th section of the 8d article of 
the constitution, among the several counties of the State — there 
being, it seems, at that time, no cities or towns entitled to sepa- 
rate representation. 

Now, the gentlemen who have advocated this resolution 
admit, that on the first day of this session, this house consisted 
constitutionally of sixty-four members only, which sixty-four 



f 



192 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

members represented all tlie free white p'opulalion of the State. 
In other words, they admit that the same free white inhabitants, . 
who now claim an addition of ten members, were, at the com- 
mencement of this session, fully and constitutionally represented 
on this floor. Has any vacancy occurred in the representation 
which they then had ? I see my friend from "Washington county 
in his seat. Whom did he represent at the commencement of 
this session ? Every one knows that he represented the whole 
of the free white inhabitants of that section of country which 
now composes the counties of Washington, Bolivar and Koaho- 
ma. Does he still represent them? Ko one will doubt his 
capacity to do so. I do not doubt his right. For what period 
of time was this power delegated to him? The constitu- 
tion says for two years. Has that time yet elapsed? It has 
not. Yet I see in this resolution a proposition to admit another 
member upon this floor, to represent the free white inhabitants 
of the county of Bolivar. ISTow I hold that two men cannot at 
the same time constitutionally occupy the same office. Either 
my friend from "Washington is no longer the representative of 
the free white inhabitants living in the county of Bolivar, who 
sent him here, or the gentleman claiming to represent the same 
people has no right to represent them. The electors living in 
the county of Bolivar have once voted for a representative in this 
session of the legislature. He is here, and has not resigned any 
portion of the power delegated to him. I know of no constitu- 
tional right which the people of the county of Bolivar have to 
resume the power which they have delegated, before the lapse 
of the two years for which they have delegated it. I have 
instanced the county of Bolivar merely by way of illustration ; 
the same observations will apply to the others. 

At the commencement of this session, this legislature created 
thirteen new counties, and shortly after adjourned over to this 
winter. This adjournment was nothing more than an adjourn- 
ment from day to day. We met here on the first Monday in 
January, 1837 — the same body precisely in our constitutional 
organization as we were on first of January, 1836. We have, 
with those who have been elected to fill vacancies, sixty-four 



SPEECH. 19 



o 



raerabers. Our body is already full, and contains the whole 
representative power of the government wliich belongs to n 
liouse of representatives. IIow, then, can we admit ten addi- 
tional persons, as members, without parting witii a portion of 
the power belonging to ns ? Ilave we a right to part with i'. ^ 
Can we give up to others a portion of our delegated power ? If 
so, cannot Ave give up the Avhole ? Can a legislative department 
of the government act by proxy? It is said that each branch of 
the legislature has the right to judge of its own organization ; 
and that, from the necesity of the case, this house has the right 
to decide whether the new counties are entitled to representa- 
tion. I deny that this house has, either under the constitution 
or from necessity, any jurisdiction over this matter. I lay down 
two propositions, and challenge their refutation. 

1st. That, where the constitution has given, to any depart- 
ment of government the jurisdiction over a matter, and that 
department has, in pursuance of that jurisdiction, acted and 
li?ially decided upon such matter, no other department, or por- 
tion of a department, can revise or cliango such action and 
decision, unless the constitution expressly authorizes such 
revision. 

2d. One branch of the legislature of this State has no power 
to repeal or alter a law, constitutionally passed by the whole 
legislature. 

Now, I assert that the question of the number of this house, at 
this session, as well as the question of what counties members 
shall come from, has been acted upon and decided by a depart- 
ment of this government, to which the constitution has given 
full and exclusive jurisdiction to decide upon the matter; and 
that, consequently, we have no right to meddle with it. I fur- 
ther assert, that our action cannot make these gentlemen 
members, unless this house has the power, by a simple resolution, 
to repeal an act of the legislature constitutionally passed. 

The §th clause of the 3d article of the constitution, just read, 
expressly gives to the legislature the power and jurisdiction, at 
periods of not less than four, nor more than six years, of fixing 
the number of representatives who shall compose the represen- 

9 



194 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

tative body, until the next period of enumeration ; and also to 
apportion sucli number among the counties, cities and toAvns 
entitled to separate representation. The legislature in December, 
1833, did, under this clause, fix the number of representatives, 
until the next enumeration period, at sixty-four, which number 
they apportioned among the different counties. Was this law, 
"when passed, constitutional ? If so, when did it become uncon- 
stitutional? If it is still a constitutional law, what righthas 
this house, by a mere resolution, to change or repeal it? That 
act of the legislature fixed the number of this house, for the 
present session, at sixty-four. If we make that number seventy- 
four, is not this house assuming a j^ower given by the constitu- 
tion to the whole legislature only ? And is not this house 
changing, by simple resolution, a constitutional law? Again, 
by claiming the right to judge in this matter, we deprive the 
senate of a portion of their constitutional power. The senate 
has as much power, under the constitution, to change the num- 
ber and apportionment; of the house of representatives as 
the house itself. Yet does any man doubt that a resolution 
of the senate, increasing our body by the addition of ten mem- 
bers, would be a nullity? But the constitution has not intrusted 
to either bod}^ the power of judging of how many members it 
shall consist, or from what districts, counties, cities or towns 
they shall come. This power is given to the legislature, and 
that, too, with the limitation that it cannot be exercised oftener 
than once in four years. The conclusion, to which this reason- 
ing brings my mind, is, that neither branch of the legislature 
has the power to change its organization as fixed by law, either 
in regard to the number of members which shall constitute the 
body, or the right of representation from any particular portion 
of 'territory. 

Our attempt to act alone in this matter is clearly an infringe- 
ment upon the constitutional right of the senate to partake in 
such action ; and if that body view the matter as I do, they 
will, upon the passage of this resolution, and the increase of om* 
number to seventy -four, be bound not to recognize us as a con- 
stitutional body. Tlie senate, in 1833, assisted in the organiza- 



SPEECH. 195 

tion of this Louse, as did tlie house in the organization of the 
senate, so far as numhers and apportionment are concerned. 
Each of these bodies is, therefore, not only presumed, but com- 
pelled, to know what the constitutional organization of the 
other is, in these two respects. It necessarily follows that each 
body is bound to notice when the other becomes disorganized 
and unconstitutional. 

There are some matters, in relation to the organization of this 
house, of which we are the sole judges, and which, after our 
decision thereupon, cannot, of course, be noticed by any other 
department. Thus, the constitution makes " each house the 
judge of the qualification and election of its own members." 
But it is clear that there must be, in the first instance, a right 
of membersliip, before any question can legitimately arise on the 
subject of qualification or election. 

The jurisdiction over the subject of qualifications and mode of 
election is not a jurisdiction over the subject of the right of re- 
presentation. ]t seems to me, the conclusion is irresistible that 
the organization of this house, so far as members and apportion- 
ment are concerned, belongs constitutionally to the whole legis- 
lature, and that the further organization, as to questions of 
qualification and election, belongs exclusively to the house. If 
this conclusion is correct, the resolution of the gentleman from 
Adams is in direct violation of constitution and law : and, if 
carried into effect, will disorganize and destroy this body. But, 
the gentlemen say, there is, in the constitution, an express cjause 
giving to each county, the moment it is created, a right to at 
least one representative. As this is the only argument in fiivor 
of this addition to our numbers, which professes to be drawn 
from the constitution, I will examine and test its force. I believe, 
however, Mr. Speaker, 1 am mistaken in saying it is the only 
argument drawn from that source. The gentleman from Adams 
has commenced one upon what he calls the corner-stone of the 
constitution, to wit : the first clause of the Bill of Rights, which 
declares that all men are free and equal. In what manner the 
gentleman will bring this to bear on the question under discus- 
sion, I confess I am at a loss to know. I should imagine, how- 



196 / MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

ever, that, upon so broad a foundation, it would require mucli 
labor and long time to erect an argument. But t(j return : even 
if tiiere was, in the constitution, an express provision giving to 
each county, the moment it is created, a right of immediate 
representation, still the bouse has no power to act in the matter 
without the concurrence of the senate. It requires a legislative 
act to change the number previously fixed by law. But I deny 
tbere is any such clause in the constitution as the one alluded to. 
I wish to be distinctly understood. I deny that there is any 
provision in the constitution which gives always, to each county, 
at least one representative. The words which have been so 
often, and so triumphantly, used in this debate, as giving to each 
county a right of representation at the moment of its creation, 
constitute a small portion of a sentence, and instead of being a 
substantial provision, asserting a positive right, compose but a 
proviso, directing and limiting the power of the legislature, 
given in the previous part of the sentence. The words as 
used in argument, are, '' Provided, however, that each county 
shall be entitled to at least one representative." Now this is 
a proviso; and the only way to ascertain its meaning is 
to look at the previous portion of the clause, and see to what it 
applies. 

A proviso is a limitation of that which precedes it. It is not 
a substantive provision ; it has no force or meaning except when 
taken in connection with the subject matter which it limits and 
to wjiich it relates. What does this proviso limit, and to what 
does it relate? I answer, unhesitatingly, that it hmits and 
relates to the previous portion of the ninth section of the third 
article of the constitution, to which it is attached. What, then, 
is the previous portion of the ninth section ? It is composed 
solely of directions to the legislature, on the subject of enumera- 
tion, and the fixing and apportionment of representation. 
This clause of the constitution does not assert anything of itself 
to which the proviso can attach : it is entirely directory. If it 
be not a limitation upon the action of the legislature, which is 
the subject matter of the section, to what is it a limitation? To 
test this, let us throw out of the section all the direction to the 



SPEECH. 19t 

legislature, and see whether there is anything left to support a 
proviso. There is not a word of the clause left. This proviso, 
then, is a limitation of the action of the legislature, or it is a 
limitation of nothing. If, then, it is a limitation of the action 
of tlie legislature, as directed in the previous part of the section, 
it can only operate as a limitation upon the powers of the legis- 
lature when that hody proceeds to perform the acts Avhich this 
section directs to be performed. The proviso is dormant until 
the action of the legislature arouses it. When the legislature, 
under this section, causes an enumeration to be made, it must 
then proceed to fix the nimiber of representatives ; and, having 
fixed the number, the legislature is directed to apportion that 
number "among the several counties, cities or towns, entitled to 
separate representation, according to the number of free white 
inhabitants in each ; and the number shall not be less than 
thirty-six, nor more than one hundred."' 

Here is a limitation of the numbers. Is there no limitation of 
the power of the legislature in apportioning this number ? There 
is. It is limited by this proviso : " Provided, however, that each 
county shall always be entitled (by such apportionment) to at 
least one representative." If this view of the subject is correct, 
then this proviso, which has been the watch-word of the friends 
of the resolution, emblazoned upon the banner under which they 
have fought, will turn out to be nothing more than limitation of 
the power of the legislature, binding that body, whenever it 
makes an apportionment, ''always to give to each county, in 
such apportionment, at least one representative." Great stress 
has been placed by gentlemen upon the word "always," I do 
not perceive tlie force of their argument on this point. If 
my construction of this clause is correct, the word "always" 
relates to the time of apportionment. Each county shall 
"always," when the apportionment takes place, be entitled to Lt 
lea>^t one representative in such apportionment. 

The creation or formation of new counties, by the legislature, 
is not direction in that section, to which the proviso, which I 
have been discussing, is attached. If, then, my previous argu- 
ment is sound, the creation of a new county does not give it a 



198 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

right of representation until tlie time for a new apportionment 
comes round. Since the counties embraced in tliis resolution 
were created, tiiore has been no enumeration, and no new 
apportionment of representatives ; the constitutional pei'iod for 
tliat action of the legislature not having yet arrived. I am, there- 
fore, forced to the conclusion that these new counties are not con- 
stitutionally entitled, as counties, to representation on this floor. 

All those who have spoken in favor of the resolution, except 
the gentleman from Hinds ( Mr. Dunlap), have predicated the 
claim of the new counties to representation, at the same session 
in which they were created, upon the proviso to the ninth sec- 
tion of the third article of tlie constitution. His decision on 
this subject is based upon a different reason, which I shall make 
bold to notice, not because I deem it of any weight, but because, 
to my utter astonishment, it seemed to have some influence 
upon the house. The gentleman from Hinds tells us, that no 
question of constitutional or legal construction has ever embar- 
rassed him so much; that, after the most mature deliberation, 
he came to the conclusion that the new counties had not a right 
of representation in this session of the legislature. He says, 
"that he has expressed this opinion, in public and private; 
that it is recorded in his letters to his friends, and has been pub- 
lished to the world. 

The gentleman further told us, that, if the question had been 
taken yesterdav. he should have voted against the resolution ; 
but that, to-day, he is prepared to part with the cherished 
opinions of a year, and accede to the claim of the new counties, 
to which claim he had so long been opposed. 

It seems that since last night a change has come over the 
spirit of his dream ; the scales have fallen from his eyes ; and a 
new light has burst upon his path, which shows him that he has 
been walking in the ways of error. But I will not part with 
him so easil}'. We have travelled together so long and lov- 
ingly in this matter, that I must at least keep some memento 
of our ct)mpanionship. "Well, then, Mr. Speaker, as I have 
lost the benefit of the gentleman's vote on the side which 
I advocate, I will retain his opinion. Though the prophet has 



SPEECH. 199 

been taken from me, I will hold fast bis mantle, and thereby, 
perchance, I may obtain some of the inspiration. The gentle- 
man's opinion against the resolution was deliberately formed, 
and continued till last night. His opinions in favor of the reso- 
lution have been formed in a hurry, and are but a few hours old. 
On which side, Mr. Speaker, would you consider the weight of 
the gentleman's opinions to lie? But I should do him injustice 
not to examine the reason upon which he has based this sudden 
change. TThen the gentleman from Hinds informed the House 
of his change of opinion, and that he intended to give the 
reasons, I listened with open ears. 

I strove in vain to imagine what could be the worm which had 
thus, in a single night, eaten avray the root of the gourd ; the 
gourd which, for a year, had grown and flourished and waxed 
mighty, until many people were refreshed beneath its protecting 
shelter. Yesterday it was green and beautiful, and the strigken 
prophet reclined with joy beneath its umbrage. But lo! t<^-day 
it is withered, and the hot sun beats, unchecked, through its leaf: 
f^ less branches. The gentleman's reasons were few, but, unlike 
the Sibylline leaves, they did not increase in value as they 
diminished in number. Indeed, if I understood aright, he 
gave no reason for his change, but only a precedent; not an 
argument, but only an analogy. He says he changed his 
deliberate opinion upon this subject within the last twenty -four 
hours, by reflecting upon the State of Arkansas, and the admis- 
sion of her members upon the floor of Congress. He seems to 
think it similar to the case before this house ; and, if I under- 
stand the mode of his argument, it is this : A law passed last 
winter, in Congress, making Arkansas a State. A law, also, 
passed this legislature last winter, creating the new counties. 
The senators and representative from Arkansas have taken their 
seats at the present session of Congress ; therefore, the new 
counties are entitled each to an additional member on this floor. 
I remember but one piece of logic which can equal that of the 
gentleman from Hinds. It is to be found in the reasoning of the 
lionest Welshman who attempted to prove that Harry of Mon- 
mouth was like Alexander the Great. " There is a river in 



I 



200 MEiLUiR OF S. S. PREXTISS. 

Macedon ; and there is aho^ moreover^ a river at Moivmoutli. 
It is called Wye at Mojimouth^ hut it is out of my j)7'ains 
what is the itame of the other river ; lut tis all one — His so 
nice as my fingers is to my ftngers^ and there is salmons in 

loth:' 

It is a pity that Arkansas came into the TJnion just at this 
period. Had she put it off yet a little while, this excruciating 
analogy would not have existed ; this overwhelming argument 
would not have been made; tlie gentleman's original opinion 
would have lasted a day longer, and I sliould have had the plea- 
sure of his countenance in the vote I am about to give. WiU 
the gentleman permit me to say, that my intellect is too obtuse 
to understand the force of his illustration. My faculties are too 
opaque to admit the light which so brilliantly illuminates his 
mind on this subject. 

I have attempted to show, in the previous portion of my argu- 
yient, that the free white inhabitants of the new counties were, 
at their creation, and now are, fully and constitutionally repre- 
sented on this floor. Will the gentleman from Hinds be so good 
as to inform me whether Arkansas had, before the admission of 
her present members, any representatives in Congress? 

The gentleman has shown us in what point the two cases are 
analogous. I will show him where thev differ : The inhabi- 
tants of Arkansas, when it became a State, had no representa- 
tive whatever, in either house of Congress. The inhabitants of 
the new counties are already represented in this legislature. 

The senators from Arkansas Avere elected under a positive pro- 
vision of the constitution, and one representative was given, or 
apportioned to it, by the very law which made it a State. The 
persons claiming seats from the ncAv counties were not elected 
under any clause of our constitution, nor did the law creating 
these counties give them any right to representation. The repre- 
sentative from Arkansas was, I presume, elected according to the 
forms prescribed by the constitution and laws. So were not the 
persons from the new counties who claim seats here. The 
Arkansas delegation did not go into Congress at the same session 
in Avhich the State was created. 



SPEECH. 201 

In the present case, admission is sought at the same session at 
which the counties seeking it were framed. In conclusion, per- 
mit me to say, there is no more similarity between the rehations 
wliich a State bears towards the Federal Government and that 
which a county bears towards tlie State, than there is between 
the opinion which the gentleman has expressed to-day and the 
one wiiich he entertained yesterday. 

I have given the gentleman's Arkansas argument more attention 
perhaps, than ic was entitled to. My excuse must be, that, as 
far as I could understand, it was the only one ]je professed to 
otier. 

He has, it is true, advanced certain abstract propositions — such 
for instance, as "that the people ought not to be deprived of 
tlieir rights," — and others of a similar character, which I dare 
not deny ; and indeed, as they appear to be of a very reasonable 
import, and altogether democratic, I believe I am Avilhng to 
admit them. 

The gentleman has also spoken very harshly of the constitu- 
tion. He denounces it, in no measured terras, as the offspring 
of ignorance and democracy. Aye, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman 
from Hinds says this constitution is too democratic. I agree 
with him. I am one of those who opposed its adoption. Last 
winter, upon this very floor, I advocated the call of a convention 
to change it. It has not, however, yet been changed ; and so 
long as it is the constitution, I have sworn to support it. Aye, 
sir, I, who have so long been considered its enemy, now stand by 
it in the hour of its utmost extremity. I call upon its friends to 
rally to its rescue — for its danger is great, and its peril imminent. 
I see some of them who respond not to the call. Though they 
profess to be its friends, yet, Judas like, they betray it with a 
kiss. But the gentleman from Hinds says it is too democratic. 
Sir, when he discharged this gun, was he aw^are of the recoil? 
If this constitution is too democratic, how democratic must he 
be wiio is willing to violate so many of its provisions, to carry a 
popular measure ? Sir, this too democratic constitution is rank 
federalism compared with some of the doctrines advanced by the 
gentleman from Hinds. ■ 

9* 



202 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

But enougli of tins ; I have given my views and arguments ' 
upon the right of the new counties to the representation which 
they cLaim, and have attempted to answer the prominent objec- 
tions which have been urged on the other side. If my answer 
has been meagre, let it be attributed to the paucity of the mate- 
rials furnished by the friends of the resolution. 

And now, Mr. Speaker, if I am right in the conclusion to 
which I have arrived in relation to this matter, and these 
gentlemen are permitted to take tlieir seats as members, and 
participate in the action of this house, what will be the effect 
upon our proceedings? I unhesitatingly answer that it will 
render the whole of our proceedings null and void, and I will pro- 
ceed to demonstrate it. It will be admitted that if this house is 
now the constitutional house of representatives, and if it cannot 
constitutionally consist of more than sixty-four members, then 
a body of men purporting to be the house of representatives 
but consisting of seventy-four members, cannot be the consti- 
tutional house of representatives. Again : if, under the consti- 
tution, this house must consist of members from certain counties, 
cities and towns, then a body of men coming as members from 
other counties, cities and towns, cannot compose a consti- 
tutional house of representatives, even though they claim and 
purport to be so. I will illustrate the proposition. The High 
Court of Errors and Appeals is limited by our constitution 
to three judges, and no law, decision or action of that or any 
other department of the government could increase that number. 
Should ten persons, including the old constitutional judges, pur- 
port and declare themselves to be the High Court of Errors and 
Appeals, and attempt to act officially as such, would the decision 
of such unconstitutional and pretended court be binding, either 
upon the citizens or any other department of the government ? 
And would it not be the duty of every other department to 
refuse to notice, as a co-ordinate department, such unconsti- 
tutional and disorganized court, whenever the acts of such pre- 
tended court should come officially before them ? Suppose the 
number of judges who should compose the High Court of Errors 
and Appeals had not been fixed by the constitution, but had 



SPEECH. 20 



o 



been left to the legislative actioc, and tliat tlie legislature La<], 
by a constitutional lavr, fixed the number at three; suppose 
such constitutional court, claiming the right as a co-ordinate 
department of the government to organize itself as it pleased, 
should increase the number to ten, \vould not the result be the 
same ? "Would not the action and decisions of such disorganized 
body be entirely void? "Would any other department notice it? 
or admit the validity of its proceedings ? ITow, I have attempted 
to show that the constitution gave to the legislature of 1833 
the jurisdiction and power to fix the number of this house of 
representatives, and to say what counties, cities or towns should 
be entitled to send them. I have further attempted to show 
that the legislature of 1833 did, in pursuance of this constitu- 
tional power, fix the number of representatives, in this session, 
at sixty-four ; and did, in the exercise of the same power, desig- 
nate and point out the counties which should send these sixty- 
four members. I have further attempted to prove that the 
creation of a county does not necessarily give an immediate 
right of representation, and that such right does not attach until 
the regular time for a new apportionment comes round. If I 
have succeeded in proving these three points, then I have proved 
that this house cannot constitutionally consist of seventy-four 
members — ten of whom come from counties not entitled to 
separate representation, either by the constitution or any law 
passed in pursuance thereof. If, then, we adopt the resolution 
before us, we make this house to consist of seventy-four mem- 
bers, ten of whom will represent counties not entitled, under the 
constitution, at this time, to any separate representation. This 
body will not, then, be the constitutional house of representa- 
tives ; and, if not the constitutional house of representatives, it 
will not be a department or any portion of a department of this 
government. 

But, say tho gentlemen, how is this fact to be ascertained? 
This house is now admitted to be a constitutional body. If we 
admit these persons as members, who can inquire into our 
action ? I answer, the judiciary. "Whenever an act, purport- 
ing upon this fact to be a law, is contested before any court, the 



204 MEMOIK OF S. S. PRENTISS, 

journals of botli or either branch of the legislature may be 
adduced before such court to show that it is not a law. 

Each branch of the legislature is required by the constitution 
to keep a journal of its proceedings. These journals are the 
highest evidence known to the law of the land of the action of 
the two houses. Even in Great Britain, where they have no 
written constitution, the journals of either house of parliament 
are considered by tfee courts as public records, and are received 
as the highest evidence of the action of that body, whenever 
such action becomes the subject of judicial investigation. Such 
is the law as laid down in all the books on evidence ; and such 
is the law as derived from the rules of common sense. For 
what, I will ask, is higher or better proof of the action of a 
legislative body thnn the journal of its proceedings, which, by 
the constitution, it is bound to keep and publish. I will mention 
one or two instances, in which, from necessity, the courts must 
look into the journals of a legislative body, and a denial of 
which right v/ould involve an absurdity. 

By an express provision of our constitution, all revenue bills 
must originate in this house ; and a revenue bill originating in 
the senate, though passed with all the legislative forms, would 
not be law. But no law shows upon its face in which house it 
originated. If, then, a law raising revenue was contested in the 
courts on the ground that it originated in the senate, how is the 
court to ascertain whether the objection is founded in fact? 
Most assuredly by looking into the journals of the proceedings of 
each house, which are not only the best, but the sole, evidence 
of the fact, unless you admit parol evidence. If upon looking 
into the journals of the two houses, it should appear that such 
law was originated in the senate, would not the court have 
jurisdiction, and be bound to pronounce it unconstitutional? 
Again: the constitution says, in the 23d sec. of the 3d article, that 
"no bill shall have the force of a law until, on three several 
days, it be read in each house, and free discussion be allowed 
thereon, unless four-fifths of the house, in which the bill shall be 
pending, may deem it expedient to dispense with this rule." 
iNow, no law shows upon its face whether this constitutional 



SPEECH. 205 

rule and limitation upon the power of the legislature has or has 
not been complied with. Suppose a bill pass in open violation 
of this constitutional provision, forced through upon a single 
reading, by a bare majority, will any man pretend to say it sliall 
have the force of a law when the constitution declares it shall 
not? I contest such pretended law in the courts, on the ground 
that it was not on three several days read in each house, and 
-that the rule was not dispensed with by four-fifths of either 
house. How am I to show this? The journals of the two 
houses are the only evidence of the fact. Can any lawyer, or 
any man of common sense, say that I have a right to contest 
the constitutionality of a law, and yet have no right to avail 
myself of the only evidence in existence of its unconstitution- 
ality, and that evidence too, of so high and sacred a character 
that its preservation is provided for in the constitution itself? 
Such a proposition would be too absurd to require a refutation. 
I take it, then, to be perfectly clear, that whenever what pur- 
ports to be a law upon its face is contested in the courts, the 
party contesting it may show by the journals of the legislature, 
by which it purports to have been passed, that it never was 
constitutionally passed, and is, in point of fact, no law. Now, 
suppose I contest the validity of a pretended law, on the ground 
that it never passed through any house of representatives at all. 
It will be admitted, I presume, that the senate and governor 
cannot make a law, and that, without the concurrent action of a 
house of representatives, a pretended law would be null and 
void. Now, I deny that the body professing to be the house of 
representatives, and assisting in the enactment of the pretended 
law in controversy, was a house of representatives. I have 
already shown that I can introduce the journals to prove that a 
law has been passed in violation of the constitution. I offer the 
same journals to prove that the body which passed the law was 
not a department of government at all ; that it was a body 
unknown to the constitution, and that it had falsely assumed 
the name of a branch of the legislature. If all these facts 
appeared upon the face of the journals of said body, would not 
the court be bound to pronounce its action void, and not bind- 



206 MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTIS3. 

ing upon eitlier the citizens or any department of the govern- 
ment? Let us then bring the argument down to the action of 
this body. If we admit this delegation from the new counties, 
our journals will. then show upon their face, that this body 
consisted of seventy-four members, ten of wliom represented 
coimties which, if my previous positions w^ere correct, are not 
entitled, at this time, to any further representation. This, 
according to my argument, would be clearly a body unknown to 
the constitution, and incapable of partaking in the enactment of 
a law. If, then, the courts can look into the journals of this 
body, and it shall appear to them, upon the face of such journals, 
that this was not a constitutional house of representatives, will 
they not be bound to say its action is not law? The recognition 
of it by the senate and the governor can in no wise alter the 
matter. . The courts will, undoubtedly, have the same right as 
the senate or the governor to decide, when the action of this 
body comes legally before them, whether it is the action of a 
department of the government or not. Indeed, every depart- 
ment of the government necessarily has the right, when what 
purports to be the action of another department comes before it, 
to decide whether such action is, in point of fact, the action of 
such other department. If I am right in these three posi- 
tions :— first, that the new counties are not entitled to represen- 
tation at this session— secondly, that this house has no jurisdic- 
tion, or right to admit them — and, thirdly, that the courts, if 
our action is contested, have the power to look into our journals 
to see if we are the house of representatives — then the conclu- 
sion is inevitable, that, if we admit them, all our acts will be 
pronounced void by the judiciary, whenever they are legally 
controverted. Sir, I have not the slightest doubt that this will 
be the inevitable result, should the resolution be adopted. Nor 
will the evil stop here. Not only will this legislature be vitiated, 
but every succeeding one. Wo cannot pass an Enumeration 
Law, nor an Apportionment Law. We can make no provision, 
under the constitution, for the future legislation. This resolu- 
tion is the poisoned shirt of Nessus. If Ave once put it on, the 
strength of Hercules will not suffice to tear it from our Hmbs — 



SPEECH. 20t 

its baneful power no medicine can control — and in the dying 
agonies of the constitution and laws, the people will curse the 
officious hand wliich extended to them the deceitful and fatal 
gift. 

I have attempted to prove that these counties have no right 
to the representation which they claim. I will now proceed to 
the second branch of the argument, and endeavor to prove that 
the persons claiming seats have not been constitutionally elected. 
No writs of election were issued by the governor. These gentle- 
men, however, claim to be elected by virtue of writs issued by 
the boards of county police of their respective counties. 

Now, there are but two kinds of election for representatives 
recognized in the constitution. One is the general biennial elec- 
tion ; the other is to fill vacancies. These gentlemen do not 
claim to have been elected at the general election, for that took 
place in November, 1835, and cannot occur again until November, 
1837. But they say they were- elected to fill vacancies, on the 
ground that the moment a county is created, the office of repre- 
sentatives is created : and that, whenever an office is without an 
incumbent, a vacancy happens. For the sake of argument admit 
it, and let us see if they be constitutionally elected to fill 
vacancies. The 18th section of the 8d article of the constitution 
provides, that " Whenever vacancies happen in either house, the 
governor, or the person exercising the powers of the governor, 
shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies." Now, as I 
have already stated, no writs of election were issued by the 
governor. I have asserted that the right of representation is 
merely a conventional right. I also lay it down as a clear 
principle, that all conventional rights must be exercised in the 
mode prescribed in the compact, by virtue of which the right is 
claimed. In other words, the mode in which a mere conven- 
tional right shall be exercised is as substantial a part of a 
compact or agreement as the right itself, and is indeed a part of 
the right. The constitution of this State does not give a general 
right of representation, to be exercised in any way whicli the 
people may choose, but only the right of representation, to be 
exercised in the particular modes prescribed, in part, by the 



208 3IEM0IR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

constitution, and in part by laws made in pursuance tliereof. As 
a part of the mode of exercising the right of representation in 
filling a vacancy, a writ from the governor is requisite, by virtue 
of the clause of the constitution just quoted. Tliis writ of 
election is as essentially necessary in the exercise of the right of 
filling a vacancy, as a writ from a court in collecting a judgment. 
I have under the constitution, a general riglit to apply to the 
courts of justice, but I must apply in the mode prescribed by the 
constitution and laws. A man owes me a debt — I go into a court 
and loudly demand a judgment for my money. The judge will 
say; Sir, you undoubtedly have a right to a judgment against 
your debtor, but you must avail yourself of that right according 
to the mode prescribed by the laws of the land — go and com- 
mence your suit in the proper form, and then you shall have 
justice. I take his advice — commence regular proceedings, and 
obtain a judgment. I now demand of the sheriff to make the 
the money — to sell my debtor's goods. The sheriff answers ; 
Sir, you undoubtedly have a right to have your debtor's prop- 
erty sold, but not in any way you may please to exercise it. To 
avail yourself of that right, you must first obtain a writ from the 
court, directed to me, and commanding me to sell — you have no 
right to have the property sold without a writ — that is the 
mode in which you must exercise your right. The refusal 
of the governor to issue a writ does not alter the case, nor 
authorize the filling of vacancies without them, any more than 
the refusal of a court or clerk to issue a writ would justify the 
sheriff in proceeding without it. But it is said, this is mere 
matter of form, and to get at the substance you are justified in 
violating forms. Sir, I do not know what gentlemen mean by 
the forms of the constitution, or what right they have to say 
that one part is not as substantial as another. Did gentlemen, 
when they took an oath to support the constitution, make a 
mental reservation, that they might violate its forms? "What is 
the criterion, and wiio is to be judge of what is form and w^hat 
substance ? If what is form can be violated with impunity, I 
fear the instrument will soon share the fate of the painting 
•which the artist requested his friends to criticise. They all 



SPEECH. 209 

pronounced it beautifii], a chef cVoeutre of the art. He then 
requested tbat each one woual take a pencil, and strike from it 
such portion as he deemed objectionable. They did so, and the 
mortified artist found no vestige of his picture remaining. But 
it is said, again, tliis is but a small irregularity, a slight violation, 
and ought not to be considered of importance. 

Sir, a single brick may be stolen from a building without 
2nuch apparent injury to the edifice, but let the example of the 
first robber be followed by others, and presently the wiiole fabric 
will tumble to ruins. It is from such small and apparently 
insignificant attacks that governments and constitutions fall. A 
leak no larger than a spearhead, will sink the most gallant ship 
that ever swam the ocean. A crevasse may be made, even by a 
reptile, which will let in the waters of the Mississippi, till whole 
counties are inundated. When men's liberties are directly 
attacked by open force, there is but little to fear. They see 
their danger and meet it boldly. But when und^ pretense of a 
popular measure, under the disguise of friendship for the people, 
a blow is struck at the constitution of the country, then is the 
time for alarm. From open enemies tlie people can always 
defend themselves — to treacherous friends they fall an easy pray. 

With regard to the point under discussion, most of the gentle- 
men who have advocated the resolution admit that the mode of 
election has been irregular and unconstitutional. The gentleman 
from Adams, however, has taken one ground, which he has 
defended in so wandering and desultory a manner that I hardly 
know whether it is worth my while to dislodge him. The 
position seems to be a sort of block-house, in advance of his 
main battle-ground, which he alternately occupies and (ieserts. 
It is this : the boards of county police have, by the constitution, 
power to fill vacancies in county offices. It has shrewdly 
occurred to the gentleman that, inasmuch as a representative is 
elected in a county, he is a county oflficer — and, of course, that a 
vacancy in the office can be filled by order of the board of county 
police. At least the gentleman says it is a matter of great doubt 
whether such be not the case. He sits upon tlie point like a bird 
upon a rotten twig, with pinions half spread, ready to fly the 



'210 MEMOIR OF S. S, PRENTISS. 

moment it gives way beneatli liim. But let us see whether a 
representative is a county officer, I understand a county office 
to be one in which the duties appertaining thereto are exercised 
within the county to which the office pertains, and the exercise 
of which does not operate upon or bind other counties; in other 
words, where the jurisdiction attached to the office does not 
extend beyond the limits of the county within which it is created. 
Thus, a sheriff, a judge of probate, a clerk of a circuit or orphans' 
court, are all county officers — because the duties and powers of 
their respective offices are confined in their exercise to the 
counties to which such offices severally belong. On the other 
hand, I understand a State officer to be one whose jurisdiction 
extends over the State, and the exercise of the duties of which 
will operate equally upon all the citizens of the State. Thus, the 
governor, the judges of the high court of errors and appeals, and 
of the circuit courts, are all State officers — because their action 
is general and. not confined to any particular county or portion 
of the State. It is not the mode of election which gives character 
to the office, but the duties appertaining to it, and the extent of 
their exercise. For instance: a judge of the supreme court, it 
will be admitted, I presume, is a State officer, though he is elected 
only froni a particular district — but the exercise of the duties of 
his office extends over the whole State. Let us then see what 
are the duties and powers of a representative, and how far they 
extend. The power of a representative is to pass laws, which 
laws extend all over the State, and affect the people of all other 
counties as much as the people of the county in which he was 
elected. He is a representative of the whole people of the State, 
and is. consequently as much a State officer as the governor. If 
a representative be a county officer, he is liable to the operation 
of the 28th section of the 4th article of the constitution, which 
says that "Judges of Probate, Clerks, Sheriffs, and other county 
officers, for wilful neglect of duty, or misdemeanor in office, shall 
be liable to presentment or indictment by a grand jury, and trial 
by a petit jury, and upon conviction shall be removed from 
office." iSlow suppose, upon his return home, the gentleman 
from Adams should find the circuit court in session, and a bill 



SPEECH. 211 

of indictment exhibited against him by tho grand inquest of his 
county, charging him with v/ilful neglect of duty and misdemeanor 
in offic9, on account of the course pursued by him in this very 
matter ; does he pretend that, upon conviction before a petit jury, 
he could be removed from his office of representative by the 
judgment of the circuit court? If so, the circuit courts, by a 
simultaneous action, might break up the legislature. This would 
be a novel method of proroguing parliament. The absurdity of 
tlie proposition*, that a representative is a county officer, is so 
obvious, that, as I said before, no one has relied upon it, in 
argument, except the gentleman from Adams, and he has 
advanced it with such manifest distrust, as to show that he 
places no reliance upon it. If, then, a representative is not a 
county officer, the boards of county police had no power to issue 
writs of election to fill pretended vacancies— and such writs have 
no more validity than if they had been issued by the chairman 
of a public meeting. The advocates of the resolution are com- 
pelled to admit that these delegates have not been elected in 
accordance with the forms of the constitution — that the constitu- 
tional prerequisite in tilling vacancies, to-wit : writs of election 
issued by the governor, was wholly wanting. Now, will gentle- 
men inform me, if they can dispense with the constitutional pre- 
requisite of a writ of election, whether they cannot, with equal 
facility, lay aside the law prescribing the mode of election? 
If they can leap-over a constitutional barrier, the laws will hardly 
oppose any obstacle to their progress. Indeed, I understand it 
to be admitted, that the persons claiming seats from the new 
counties have not been constitutionally elected, but that the 
failure of the governor to issue writs, ought not to deprive the 
people of their right of representation. They carry this doctrine 
still farther, and assert that upon the occurrence of a vacancy in 
this body, and a failure of action on the part of the officers 
wliose duty it is to order and conduct an election, the people 
have a right to meet in their primary assemblies, and elect, in 
such manner as they please, a representative — and that such 
representative, so elected, would be entitled to his seat on this 
floor. I understand the gentleman from Adams distinctly to 



212 MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTISS. 

avow (if I ana wrong I call upon him to correct me) tliat upon 
the failure of the proper officers to do their duty, the people, in 
their primary assemblies, have the right to send members to this 
body, Avithout compliance with any of the forms of election* 
prescribed by the constitution and laws. I ask the gentleman 
from Adams if I am right in attributing to him such a doctrine? 
He nods assent. Will he permit me to illustrate his doctrine by 
electing him according to his own mode ? I will suppose that 
a vacancy occurs in the representation of the county of Adams. 
The governor neglects or refuses to issue a writ of election. The 
sheriif refuses to act without a writ ; and, in consequence, no 
election is ordered, no inspectors appointed, and no polls opened. 
Deep excitement pervades the community. The people meet in 
the pubhc places, like the citizens of ancient Athens, and greedily 
inquire of each other what has happened. At the corners of 
the streets at aSTatcliez huge placards are posted up, on which, 
in blazing capitals, you may read, "Citizens to the rescue! 
Your rights are violated — your liberties are endangered !" Sud- 
denly the tocsin is sounded, and the deep tones of the bell, which 
hangs above the temple of justice, and which has so often 
assured the inhabitants of that beautiful city, they lived under a 
government of constitution and laws, now speak the notes of 
alarm. The excited citizens rush towards the court-house. A 
human wave is seen in every street. That old hall, which has 
often rung with the eloquence of the wise and the good, is 
now filled with men whose scowling brows and compressed lips 
denote that it is upon no ordinary'' occasion they have assembled 
there. 

The gentleman from Adams mounts the rostrum — that sacred 
place from whence law has been so long expounded, and justice 
dispensed. Beneath him is a sea of upturned faces, and as the 
burning words flow from his ready tongue, that multitude is 
swayed to and fro, even as the tides obey the changing moon. 
He tells them, with eloquence far beyond my feeble powers to 
imitate, that the most sacred of all their rights is in danger — 
that right for which their fathers fought, for which patriots have 
lived, and heroes died. He tells them that taxation without 



SPEECH. 213 

representation is tyranny — that opposition to tyranny is obedience 
to God — that this right is inahenable — that they cannot ^be 
deprived of it by any power whatever, much less by the neglect 
of duty in their agents, the mere slaves of their will. He states 
liow the various oflScers liave neglected their duty — and thus 
pours upon their heads the vials of his eloquent wrath : 

" Fellow Citizens : — The sword of retributive justice shall soon 
descend upon the traitorous governor ; and to the ears of our 
recreant sheriff shall come from the ballot-box a voice which 
will make him tremble, as if he heard the last trumpet sound — 
the voice of an indignant people. But, fellow citizens, you must 
not be thus cheated. Tnese forms prescribed by the constitution 
and law, shall not bind your free energies. Even now, before 
you leave this house, speak in accents of thunder — assert your 
right — and should your choice fall on the hmnble individual who 
addresses you, proudly will he stand in the legislative hall, and 
boldly will he claim his seat as your representative." The 
gentleman ceases : and a murmur of approbation runs through 
the assembly, w^hich presently rises to a shout that would mate 
the roar of the ocean, when the tempest is doing its wildest 
work. He is elected by acclamation, and presents himself before 
this house as the representative of the county of Adams, with 
the flush of triumph on his cheek, and an almost endless roll, 
containing the signatures of all that primary assembly, as the 
certificate of his election. Could the members of this house, 
under their solemn obligation to support the constitution, admit 
tlie gentleman to take his seat upon this floor ? Does the gentle- 
man from Adams really assert, that, under such circumstances, 
he would be entitled to a seat ? He answ^ers in the affirmative. 
Sir, I did not expect to hear such doctrines advanced from 
that quarter. I look upon them with horror and alarm. I 
denounce them as disorganizing and revolutionary. They are 
the same doctrines which were preached in the jacobin clubs of 
Paris, during the worst times of the French Revolution ; and, if 
generally adopted, will produce the same result here that marked 
their progress throughout that bloody period. If the gentleman's 
doctrine is carried out, it amounts to this : that whenever an 



214 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

officer of government fails to do his duty, the people have the 
right to take the matter into their own hands and do it for him. 
If a judge fails or refuses to hold court, the people can meet in 
the court-house and adjudge the causes upon the docket — and 
should they find a criminal awaiting his trial for some capital 
offence, then, inasmuch as legal proceedings are mere matter of 
form, and the punishment is the substance, they will have a 
perfect right to hang the poor wretch upon the nearest tree. 
Sir, I do not pretend to say that the gentleman from Adams has, 
in point of fact, pushed his theory thus far ; but I appeal to 
every sensible man, whether the propositions made by him do 
not embrace a principle broad enough to cover all such cases. 
And what is the principle ? It is a fearful monster, which has, 
for the last two or three yeai*s, traversed the United States with 
the stride of a drunken and infuriated giant, tramphng down 
constitutions and laws, and setting governments at defiance. In 
the city of Baltimore, in its frantic mood, it demolished the 
edifices of the citizens. In Charlestown, a convent' fell a prey to 
its wayward humor. It is no stranger within our own State — 
and, maddened by a southern sun, its footsteps here have been 
marked with blood. It is the principle of mobocracy, the incar- 
nate fiend of anarchy. For the first time it has dared to present 
its horrid front in the halls of legislation. The gentleman from 
Adams has introduced it — and upon his head be the conse- 
quences, if, as I fear will be the case, it is received with welcome. 
Let the gentleman remember the fate of many a necromancer, 
whose unholy incantations have been of power to raise the devil, 
but not to control him— and who, while struggling in the choking 
grasp of the foul spirit, has cursed the day he meddled with 
the black art of sorcery. A child may unchain the hungry tiger, 
bnt if he does, will most likely fall the earliest prey to the savage 
beast. I told this body at an early period of the debate, that a 
fearful chasm was at our feet— and, if we waited for a httle time, 
it would be bridged, so that we could pass it in safety. " I will 
leap it," cries the gentleman from Adams, impetuously. I entreat 
him to pause, if not for his own sake, at least for the sake of 
those who have committed dear rights to his charge. Let him 



SPEECH. 215 

iiot tempt the fate of Cnrtius, 'wlien. the country can receive no 
benefit from the sacrifice. Eicher treasures than the srentleman 
from Adams must be thrown into that yawning gulf before it 
closes. 

Sir, I do most solemnly believe, that upon the rejection of this 
resolution depends the prosperity of this State, for many years 
to come. I believe its adoption will infuse into the legislation 
of the State a poison which no medicine can cure. It Avill part 
the laws from the constitution, and set them adrift, like the 
broken spars and rigging of a dismasted, vessel, which beat 
against and destroy the very keel they were intended to support. 

But in spite of this and all other opposition, the resolu- 
tion admitting the delegates from the new counties was 
finally passed by a bare majority, the claimants themselves 
voting on the question. Thereupon, Mr. Prentiss prepared 
the followiu2: Protest, which in behalf of himself and 
twenty-one other Representatives, he obtained leave to have 
spread upon the Journals of the House : — 

The undersigned, members of the house of representatives of 
the legislature of the State of Mississippi, beheving that said 
body has, in certain action which has occurred therein at the 
present adjourned session of 1837, violated the constitution of 
the State, the law of the land, and the rules which govern legisla- 
tive proceedings, by admitting as a component part of the body, 
ten persons whom they believe, under the constitution of 
the State, the law of the land, and the rules of legislative pro- 
ceedings, to have no right to participate in the deliberations of the 
body, ask leave to protest against such action, as the only mode 
left by which to express their opinions tipon the same. 

The undersigned set forth the following statement, as the 
ground of their proceeding : 

1st. They believe that by the constitution of this State, the 
power and jurisdiction of fixing the number of each branch of 
the legislature, and of apportioning such number among the 



216 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

counties, cities, and towns, is given expressly to the whole, and 
not to eitlier branch thereof. 

2(1. That the number of representatives which should compose 
this branch of the legislature at the present session, was fixed by 
the legislature of 1833, and apportioned among the counties then 
in existence. 

3d. The constitution requires that, in case of vacancy, a writ 
of election should be issued by the governor. 

Now the undersigned set forth the following facts ; — 1st. That 
the legislature of 1833, did fix the number of this house at sixty- 
four, and did apportion that number among the counties of the 
State. 2d. This body has admitted ten additional persons as 
members thereof; thereby increasing its number to seventy-four 
without any new apportionment by the legislature. 3d. Said 
ten persons were not elected at any general election, nor by 
virtue of writs of election issued by the governor, but by virtue 
of writs of election issued by the boards of county police. 4th. 
Upon a report of the minority of the committee of elections, 
denying said ten persons to be constitutionally elected members 
of this body, a motion w^as made to disagree to said report, 
which motion was divided, and eight of said persons were per- 
mitted to vote upon every portion of said report. 5th. Before 
said last-mentioned vote was taken, the question was raised 
whether said ten persons had a right to vote on said question. 
Mr, Speaker decided that they had, an appeal was taken, and 
said ten persons were permitted to vote on the question whether 
they were entitled to vote. 

Upon this view of the constitution, and this state of facts, the 
undersigned do most solemnly protest against the admission of 
these ten persons into the house, as an addition to this body, 
unknoAvn and unauthorized by either the constitution or laws 
of the State. 

They further protest against the mode in which they were 
admitted ; and more particularly, the power of voting, acquired 
by their own votes, which the undersigned conceive to be a 
total and outrageous violation of common sense and common 
justice, both of which say that a man shall not be a judge in his 



srEECH. 



217 



own case. The undersigned further protest against the action 
of tlie speaker in the whole of this matter, which seemeih to 
them a continued infraction of constitutional, legal and legislative 
rules. In conclusion, the undersigned feel bound to say, that 
tiiej conscientiously believe that the action of this house, in 
relation to the matter above set forth, has been unprecedented 
and unconstitutional, and that it has the effect totally to dis- 
organize this body, and destroy it as a branch of the legislative 
de])artment of government. 

The late estimable Judge Winchester, then a senator 
from Adams county, introduced a resolution into the other 
branch, declaring the legislature to be disorganized, and 
upon its failure, entered with five other senators a Protest 
similar to the above. 

After passing a bill, incorporating the mammoth Union 
Bank, the legislature hastily, and in great confusion, 
adjourned over to May. But Mr. Prentiss immediately 
resigned his seat. Thus closed his brief legislative career 
in Mississippi. 



10 



218 MEMOIR OF S. S. PKENTISS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Kecollections of him in the Winter of 1S36-7 — Letters — Gains the gi'eat Commons 
Suit — Second Yisit Home — Fom-th of July Speech at Portland — Becomes a Candi- 
date for Congress — His Vievrs on the Question of a National Bank — Mississippi in 
1887 — Opens the Canvass frith a Speech at Natchez — Electioneering Campaign — 
His Letters describing it. 

Mt. 28—29. 1837. 

There was no point, perhaps, in Mr. Prentiss' life, when 
his physical and mental powers were in finer tune than 
during the winter of 1836-t. He was the very picture of 
health, hope and joyous activity. His presence seemed 
encircled by a kind of charmed atmosphere ; it excited 
pleasurable emotion like the song of birds in spring. One 
could hardly be with him and hear him talk, without a cer- 
tain grateful elation of feeling. How shall I ever forget 
that winter ? I cannot recall a look, or word during the 
whole of it, that was not kindness itself. He seemed a thou- 
sand times more interested in forming plans for others than 
for himself. His literary taste was constantly showing itself. 
One day, for example, he bought me, at an extravagant 
price, a copy of Bayle's Biographical Dictionary, and then 
expatiated, with all the enthusiasm of a bibliopolist, upon the 
attractions of that celebrated work. In such matters he was 
as eager and artless as a little child. He delighted, of an 
evening, to sit and talk over old times, old scenes and old 
neighbors far away in New England. He never tired of 
doing this. Beginning at the old farm, and then passing to 



LETTERS HOME. 219 

the village, he would inquire minutely about one person after 
another, and then wind up by saying he had never met 
such original characters since leaving home. At other 
times, he would relate exciting scenes he had passed through 
in the South, and give his ojjinion of men and things there. 
In these conversations, a large share was devoted to his 
mother and sisters, to devising little schemes for their com- 
fort, and expressing his affection for them. The following 
letters written about this time, may afford glimpses of his 
feelings : — 

TOniSMOTnEE. 

VicKSBURG, Fel/ruary 10, 1837. 

My Deae Mothee: — 

It has been now at least two months since I have 
written to any of you; a neglect I should not have been guilty 
of, but for G., who writes so frequently and such long letters, 
that I tell him you will never read half of them. You have 
received the news, I suppose, very regularly from him, and have 
lost nothing by my silence. The time when I expect to see you 
is so rapidly approaching, that I feel almost dissatisfied with the 
cold and dull formality of a letter, in anticipation of the pleasure 
I shall have shortly in conversing with you all. I have just 
returned from Jackson, having finished ray business both in the 
Courts and the Legislature. "We had but a short session of 
the Legislature, though a very boisterous and noisy one. In 
making the noise, I helped considerably myself, as you have 
no doubt seen by the papers which G. has sent you. In the 
Courts, I was successful to the utmost extent of my wishes, par- 
ticularly in gaining the suit to which I have once or twice 
alluded heretofore in my letters. I never told you the particu- 
lars about it, as I did not wish to excite hopes that might not 
be realized. The suit was for some very valuable property in 
this place, including a portion of the town. I was employed 
several years ago as counsel in the cause, and believing I must 
ultimately succeed, I purchased a portion of the interest. The 
matter has gone through all the courts, and was finally decided 



220 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

in my favor, last week, in the Supreme Court of the State. This 

decision is final, and we are now in possession of the property. 

My interest, I have no doubt, is worth, and will realize at least 

one hundred thousand dollars.* This will be enough for us all. 

I rejoice at this fortunate result more on your account and that 

of the girls, than on my own, for even had I lost the suit, I 

should have found no difficulty in making an ample subsistence 

by my profession. As it is, I trust that neither you nor the girls 

will ever again have a wish either for your own comfort, or that 

of others, which you will not be able to gratify. G. will leave 

for home some time in May. I shall not get away till June. I 

have a great many plans both for you all and for myself, which 

I will not discuss till I get home. I shall write to W. to night, 

to inform him of my good fortune, and that he shall partake of 

it. G. writes you such long letters, that I believe I will give 

you a specimen of a short one. Tell Anna that the first two 

things I intend to buy when I get home are a 2^ony and a pm'no. 

My best love to you all. 

Your afi:ectionate son, 

Seaegext. 



TO THE SAME. 

YiCKSBURG, February 27, 1S37. 

My Deae Mother: — 

I have just received your letter of the Gth inst., 
and hasten to write you in return. I am very much pleased 
that you have of your own accord, decided that it would be 
best to move into Portland. I have always thought that both 
your comfort and happiness would be advanced by doing so; 
but I never felt disposed to press it, because you could of course 
judge best of the matter. I am perfectly pleased and satisfied 
with all you have done, and my only fear is, that you have not 



* This was much below the real estimate. In a note, addressed to him several 
months later, by Judge Sharkey, the latter says:— "Your lots must necessarily 
increase in value so long as the city continues to improve. The present value, as 
property is now estimated, cannot be less than three or four hundred thousand 
dollars. My estimate is below that which is generally fixed by others better 
acquainted with tlie value of town property than myself."— Ed. 



LETTERS HOME. 221 

availed yourself sufficiently of my offer, and may not have pur- 
chased a house that will suit you. I have already told you in a 
former letter that I shall not be able to leave here till some time 
in June, by the last of which month, however, I hope to be with 
you. I do want to see you and tiie girls very much, for I love 
them dearly. Indeed, they are sisters of whom any brother 
might be proud ; they are so kind, and so considerate, and so -ood 
and I am proud of them. I am grateful to them, also ; for had 
1 not had such kind and affectionate sisters, and such a mother 
as I have, I do most sincerely believe that I should never have 
been successful in life ; for I should have been without the main 
inducement to exertion. Many a tjme, since I have wandered 
forth mto the world, have I been tired and sick and disgusted 
with the cold selfishness of those around me, and ready in per- 
fect contempt, to quit all further business with them; but the 
thought of home and the loved ones there, has warmed my 
benumbedfeehngs, and encouraged me to renewed efforts, by 
he reflection that there were, though afar oft; those whose 
happmesswas,m some degree at least, connected with mine. 
And I hold that no person can be entirely miserable while there 
IS in the world a single individual who will rejoice at his pros- 
penty or feel sorrow for his adversity. I have directed this 
letter to Gorham, for fear you may not have moved yet. G is 
going to Natchez to-morrow, to see one of his classmates before 
he starts for home. I have nothing new to tell you, and indeed, 
It would be unnecessary, for I presume G. gives vou aU thA 
gossip. Goodnight. My love to you all. ^^^'' ^"^ ^^ ^^« 

Your affectionate son, 

Seaegent. 



TO HIS SISTEE ANNA. 

My Dear Sister :- Vicksburg, April 2, issT. 

letter of f^. q.i^T ^'''' g^^^^^^ned by a perusal of your kind 
lettei of the 8th ult., which, through the rapid medium of the 



222 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

express mail, has just come to hand. Indeed this miscalled 
Express is more tardy in its movements than the old system ; 
for I used to receive letters in much less time than is now con- 
sumed in their passage. I need not tell you how grateful to me 
are your sisterly and affectionate congratulations upon my suc- 
cess — nor how truly you appreciate my feehngs in supposing 
that a sister's wishes, sympathy and hope sound far sweeter to my 
ear than all the cold compliments of the world. I care very 
little for the opinions of those I do not love. Indeed, even if 
one were not inclined, it would be good policy to treat the 
world with contempt — for, spaniel-like, the more you abuse it 
the more it will fawn upon you. But I will not fill my letter 
with misanthropy, as it would behe my feelings. If I love not 
mankind, still I hate them not. 

And so the folks have moved into Portland at last. I am very 
glad they are pleased with the change. I do not recollect the 
part of the city in which the house is situated. If it does not 
turn out to be a pleasant one, we will sell it and buy another. 
Before this arrives G., I presume, will be with you. He started 
two weeks since; and I have just heard of his safe arrival in 
Louisville. I do hope he will have persuaded S. to accompany 
him home. It will be so great a gratification to mother, as well 
as all of us, to have him with us this summer. W. will, of 
course, come to see us; and then we shall all be collected 
together around the same fire-side — a good fortune which does 
not often occur in a family so much scattered as ours has been. 

Josiah L called on me a few days since, on his way to 

]srew Orleans. He is in excellent health, and, apparently, good 
spirits. He has been living at Cincinnati, and says he intends 
to go and buy a farm in Illinois. He asked me what was " the 
good news," and seemed very glad to see me. I have no news 
to give you since G. left — and as he will be with you before this 
letter, he will, of course, have unfolded his budget, and have 
given you everything of the slightest importance or interest. 

My love to you all. Good night. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



SECOND VISIT HOME. 223 

TO niS SISTEE ABBY 

VicESBUEO, May 7, 18-37. 

My Deae Sistee : — 

I believe I shall never become as good a corres- 
pondent as G., and I know you have good cause to complain of 
my want of punctuality. I never could express my thoughts 
and feelings readily upon paper ; and, indeed, I have almost a 
repugnance to writing letters. It is, however, unnecessary to 
assure you that this ai'ises from no forgetfulness of my dear 
mother and sisters, for should I write as often as I think of 
you, your whole time would be employed in reading my epistles. 
I wish you further to understand, that my repugnance extends 
only to writing, and not to receiving, letters. 

I am delighted that you are all so well pleased with your new 
residence, and know I shall like it much ; for whatever pleases 
you will please me. "We have nothing new here, except the 
most horribly hard times ever known, and they are getting 
worse daily^ It seems to me, half the people in the United 
States will have to break; for, from all I see in the papers, 
things are no better North. 

If I get off by the first of June, I shall not write again. Our 
Courts are now in session, and I am quite busy winding up my 
old business — for I have declined taking any new. It is getting 
late, so good night, and my love to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegext. 

He reached Portland the latter part of June. After 
remaining a couple of weeks, and fishing once more in the 
Great Brook, he was hurried back by the intelligence that 
his friends in Mississippi, had nominated him as a candidate 
for representative in Congress. 

During this visit he was invited to attend a "Whig Fourth 
of July celebration ; and on being toasted, in a very com- 



224 MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTISS. 

plimentary manner, as '^ a son of Portland, in whose talents 
and acquirements the vigor of the North was united to the 
fertiUtj and luxuriance of the South" — he responded in a 
speech upon the financial condition and distresses of the 
country, which excited the admiration of all who heard it. 
At this time his name w^as little known in his native town ; 
few present, indeed, had ever before seen him. The pecu- 
liar style of his oratory, in part the growth of his Southern 
life, was as novel to the ear of many of his auditors as the 
magnolia of the South in full bloom would have been to their 
eye. The celebration was held under an immense pavilion, 
upon the hill which overlooks Casco Bay. Mr. Prentiss had 
hardly begun his address when the thunders of applause ar- 
rested the attention of troops of men and boys, who, as is 
usual on such occasions, were sauntering about in the vicinity. 
Immediately they pressed up to the tent, and no sooner 
had they caught the accents of the speaker's voice, or — by 
peeping through some rent or loop-hole — got sight of his 
face, blazing with excitement, than they stood still, trans- 
fixed with delight. It were difficult to say v/hether the 
scene without or within the tent, afforded the most striking- 
proof of the orator's power. 

Some of his illustrations were exceedingly vivid. In 
speaking of Gen. Jackson's " experiments " upon the cur- 
rency, he compared him to a man who should seize you by 
the jugular vein, and, substituting his own will for the 
self-regulating law of health, ordain hov/ fast or how slow 
the life-blood should course through it ! Xo one who 
heard him on this occasion, will easily have forgotten the 
passage in which he described the recent Whig victories, 
east and west of the Alleghanies ; or his exulting tone and 
glow of countenance, as he concluded it by quoting the 
celebrated lines from Childe Harold : — 



SPEECH AT PORTLAND. 225 

" Far along, 
From peak to peak, the rattling crags among, 
Leaps the live thunder ! Not from one lone cloud, 
But every mountain now liath found a tongue, 
And Jura answers, through her misty shroud, 
Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud ! "* 

He returned South by the route across the Allaghanies, 
and had, as the following letter inthuates, a very wearisome 
journey of it : — 

TO niS YOUNGEST BE OTHER. 

Deae Geoege :- ''''"'''"'' ^"^"'^^ ''' ''''• 

After an exceedingly tedious and fatiguing passage 
of eleven days from Louisville, I have at length arrived safe and 
in excellent health at the place of my destination. The Ohio was 
very low, and the boat in which I embarked, took the occasion 
to tarry some seven or eight days upon sand-bars. I find things 
here very much as I left them. Times are very dull. There Is 
not a dollar of money in circulation and no business doing. The 
prospect for crops is good, and I doubt not business will be brisk 
so soon as the cotton market opens. Excliange will then be 
restored between this State and ITew York. At present it is 
entirely prostrated. Yicksburg has been somewhat sickly 

* I find the foUowing editorial notice of this speech, in the ''Foriland" Adver- 
iiser— followed by an enthusiastic tribute to the eloquence of the Maine boy— from 
the spirited pen of John Neal :— 

" Mr. Peextiss answered to the call in a modest, eloquent and classical speech 
unsm-passed by anything of the kind we ever heard. It was full of power and 
altogether superior to the speeches we are accustomed to hear on such occasions 
We have done our utmost to procure it for publication, but are obliged to say-with 
faces longer than we should like to acknowledge-that the thing is impossible. We 
could not procure from the gentleman himself, even an outline. But neither Mr 
Prentiss himself, nor the most attentive of his auditory, though accustomed to 
reportmg, almost literally, the language of public men, uttered on public occasions, 
would be able to do that speech justice on paper, were tliey to club together for 
. the purpose. 

"We hope, therefore, our readei-s will be satisfied with the concurrent testimony 
of all who heard it, that it was worthy of the man himself, one of the most gifted 
among the great body of Xew Englanders who have gone to the mighty West and 
bouthwest-those storehouses of empires-there to multiply and scatter the seeds 
of genuine, unadulterated, New Englandi&nV' 

10^ 



226 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS, 

during my absence, but it is quite healthy now, and I apprehend 
no danger whatever. The election resulted, as I anticipated, in 
the defeat of the Whig ticket, by a considerable majority, about 
3,000. I was beaten 2,800 votes. I had 500 more votes than 
the candidate who ran on the same ticket with me, though he 
had been electioneering all summer. In the river counties 
where the strength of the Whigs principally hes, they did not 
give more than half the vote of which they are capable — many 
believing the special election illegal and invahd. I shall make 
the tour of the State and try my luck in November, though I 
have small hope of success. I deem it my duty, however, 
having become a candidate, to use every exertion. But so far 
as my individual feehngs are concerned, I shall not suffer the 
slightest mortification at defeat. I shall only regret it on ac- 
count of my friends and the cause. Had the special election 
not occurred until I had had a full opportunity of canvassing 
the State, I should have stood a good chance; as it is, you 
must look for my defeat in November, unless I can do more by 
my personal exertions than I have any warrant for supposing 
can be done. But enough of this, to me, insignificant subject. 
I find all my friends here well, and many of them inquire after 
your welfare. I suppose, by this time, you are all very snugly 
situated on Danforth street. I trust you will be pleased with 
the house, and I should be dehghted to drop in and see how you 
have arranged matters. Col. Ben is well, and is already edify- 
ing the boys with an account of his adventures in the Free 
States. I shall leave town in a few days for the interior. I 
shall expect frequent letters from you, and the girls, and you 
must always tell me of all your wants and wishes at home. 
I hope S. will stay with you till late in the fall. I would 
this election had been out of the way, and then I should have 
been with you still. 

August 26. 

I shall start out to-morrow on an electioneering trip, and 

be gone till November. Should I succeed, it will be one of 

the greatest triumphs ever obtained in this country. The 

special election, during my absence, played the mischief with 



HIS OPIXIOX OF A NATIOXAL BANK. 227 

the Whig cause. Judge Guion and family are well, and also 
Mr. Smedes. My love to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 

Before setting out, he published an address to the people 
of the State, containining a brief expose of his political sen- 
timents. The leading question of the day, was that of a 
National Bank ; and to this topic the address is chiefly de- 
voted. The following extracts present the main points, 
upon which the election turned, and afford, at the same time, 
an instructive illustration of the great change which has 
since come over the financial creed and policy of the 
country. 

In November next, you will be called upon, in selecting a 
large number of public agents, to elect two for the purpose of 
transacting your business and representing you in the Congress 
of the United States. I am one of tlie candidates for that high 
and important trust; and both reason and custom make it 
incumbent on me in the position I occupy, to make known to 
you my political principles, so far as they may have any bearing 
upon the action of a representative. This duty I should have 
performed long since, but for indispensable absence from the 
State, to which I have just returned. Though my name was 
before you at the recent election, I was wholly ignorant when I 
left the State that a special election was contemplated, and was 
not aware of the fact that such an election would be holden 
until a few days before it occurred, too late to have communi- 
cated with you either personally or by letter. I trust this will 
be a sufficient excuse for my apparent neglect. 

The most important question which now agitates the public 
mind, arises out of the distressed condition of the country. To 
the actual existence of great distress ; to the utter derangement 
of commerce, foreign and domestic ; to the diminution in both 



228 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

the price and demand for labor ; to the prostration of bushiess 
in the mechanic arts ; to tlie depreciation of property ; to the 
universal distrust and foreboding which pervades the community 
in every part of the Union, all men bear witness; on this sub- 
ject there is but one party. The immediate cause of the evils 
above enumerated, is by all correctly attributed to the derange- 
ment of the currency of the country. It seems, also, to be 
admitted, that the only adequate remedy is a restoration of the 
currency to a sound state. The people look to Congress for this 
restoration, and they demand that it speedily be made. 

I believe that not merely the best, but the only mode of 
restoring the currency of this country to a sound condition, and 
keeping it so, is the establishment of a IsTational Bank. I 
believe we cannot have a currency in the United States adequate 
to carry on the business of the country, without such an institu- 
tion. We certainly cannot have an exclusively metallic cur- 
rency, though there is a party who hold the proposition that we 
can. All wise politicians, however, repudiate the monstrous 
absurdity. Even the Globe denies that either the Administra- 
tion or any prominent member of the party, ever advanced so 
foolish a doctrine. Indeed sensible men all join in scouting it, 
and it is now the peculiar property of the Loco Focos. I look 
upon the theory of a currency purely metallic in a country like 
this, as one of the most unpleasant specimens of human imbe- 
cility ever exhibited. 

I believe the State banks, alone, incapable of furnishing a 
sound currency. Having their origin under different systems of 
legislation, with dissimilar charters totally powerless beyond 
the limits of the State in which they originated, each eager to 
furnish as large a portion as possible of the circulation of the 
country; these rival and hostile institutions are continually 
pressing forth their paper, until public confidence becomes 
shaken; their issues are returned upon them, — suspension of 
specie payment is the consequence, and seven years of pecuniary 
famine succeed the seven years of plenty. The same course will 
then be pursued again, and thus the country will be alternately 
gorged and starved. With a National Bank in operation, such a 



A NATIONAL BANK. 229 

state of tilings cannot occur. The undne issues of State institu- 
tions will be immediately thrown back, before they have reached 
an injurious accumulation; and the State Bank?, kept,in con- 
tinued and equal check by this great regulation, will harmoniously 
perform their legitimate fimction of furnishing a currency for all 
the domestic business of the States to which they respectively 
belong. This is the extent to which State banking can be 
carried, — furnishing a local, but not a general currency. Expe- 
rience has shown, and reason demonstrates, the inability of the 
State banks to carry on the exchange of the country, and their 
unfitness to act as the fiscal agents of the Government, in the 
safe keeping and disbursement of its revenues. These offices, I 
believe, can be successfully performed only by a National Bank. 
By the establishment of such an institution, our currency would 
soon become what it once was, the best in the world. "With 
gold and silver for a basis, the issues of sound State banks for 
all local purposes, a National Bank to check the undue action of 
the State banks, to regulate exchanges, and to act as the agent 
of the Government in the collection and disbursement of its 
revenues, we should have a mixed currency, which experience 
has twice proven to us is sound, regular, and fully adequate to all 
the wants of the people and the Government, and the only one 
I believe fitted to the political, commercial, and geographical 
character of our country. 

In the establishment of a National Bank we can easily obviate 
the objectionable features which have been urged against the 
character of the old institution. 

If, then, I am elected as your Eepresentative, I shall vote for 
the immediate establishment of a National Bank. 

1st. — For the purpose of furnishing the government with a 
competent fiscal agent. 2d. — Because it will furnish a currency 
of equal and uniform value throughout the Union. 3d. — Because 
it will restore the exchanges of the country, and relieve the 
community from the immense sacrifices which are now made in 
the transmission of funds from one State to another. 4th. — 
Because it will keep in check the State banks, repress undue 
and inordinate issues of local paper, and by that means, in all 



230 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

likelihood, prevent a recurrence to the desperate remedy of a 
suspension of specie payments. 

I never heard an objection to the old United States Bank 
which cannot be easily obviated in chartering a new one, except 
the constitutional objection. I know that as honest pohticians 
as any in the country have denied the constitutional power of 
Congress upon this subject. I have myself, however, always 
entertained a different opinion, and believe Congress has, under 
the present Constitution, power to charter a bank, 

I would, however, out of respect for those who differ from me, 
be glad to see the Constitution so amended as to leave no doubt 

on the point. 

I have thus, fellow-citizens, frankly given you my views on 
the Bank question— a question upon which my opponents, 
Messi-s Claiborne and Gholson, entertain, I am informed, 
opinions diametrically opposite to my own. Indeed, I should 
never have placed my humble pretensions in opposition to 
theirs, had it not been for the opinion which they avow in 
relation to this all-important subject. They are both gentlemen 
whose personal qualifications to represent the people of Missis- 
sippi no one can doubt. There is no personal rivalry in this 
canvass— it is, as it ought to be, a question of principle. 

Before accompanying him on Hs electioneering tour, it 
seems proper to give some account of Mississippi, particu- 
larly of its population, at this time. The following table 
contains an official return of the census of all the counties 
in the State, except Tunica, in 183t. It is a very sugges- 
tive document. The proportion of young men is particularly 
striking. The white male population of Warren County, 
for example, was 3,530 ; of this number only 124 were over 
forty-five years of age. 



POPULATIOX OF illSSISSIPPI IN 1837, 



231 



NAaiES OF COUNTIES. 



"o 9 



c 3 





a: 






C> 


















a 












« 










« 




C3 


tf 






V 




t^ 




f: 


Q> 
















9 


X 


H 




CD 


at 


b 




9 


A 






C 




O 




^ 



Adams, .. 

Ainite, 

Attala, 

Lolivar, . . . 
CaiToll,. . . . 
ChickasaTT, 
Choctaw, . 
[ Claiborne,. 

Clarke, 

Copiah, . . . , 
Covington, . 

De Soto, 

Franklin, . . . 
Greene, . . . . 
Hancock, . . . 

Hinds, 

Holmes, . . . . 
Itawamba,. . 
Jackson, . . . 

Jasper, 

Jefferson, . . 

Jones, 

Kemper,. . . . 
Koahoraa, . 
La Faj-ette, . , 
Lauderdale. . 
Lawrence, . 

Leake, 

Lowndes,. . . . 
Madison, . . . . 

Marion, 

Marshall, 

Monroe, . . . . 
Neshoba, . . . . 

Newton, 

Noxubee, . . . 
Octibbeha,. . 

Perry, 

Pike, 

Ponola, 

Pontotoc,.. . . 

Rankin, 

Scott, 

Simpson, .... 
Smith, 

Tallahatchie, 

Tippah, 

Tishamingo, . , 

Warren, 

Washington, . 

Wayne, 

Wilkinson,. . . 

Winston, 

Yalabusha,.. . 
Yazoo, 



405 
133 
822 
2137 
C37 
263 
191 
SOS 
50T 
100 
550 
165 
442 
345 
563 
195 
1359 
1103 
279 
1533 
728 
123 
237 
693 
360 
191 
543 
327 
869 
513 
131 
UT 
169 
306 
626 
346 
2387 
304 
155 
537 
394 
1103 

nil 



<5S 

864 

493 

54 

1156 
177 
6J9 
671 
405 

1192 
563 

607 
327 
445 
1695 
764 I 
434 
393 
570 
537 
335 

1013 
143 
523 
542 

1058 
195 

1348 
a32 
535 

2'203 

1036 
206 

421 

S54 

361 

332 
1151 

334 

414 

845 

251 

701 

323 

337 
1112 

751 

878 

150 

276 

728 

634 




398 
226 
850 

1494 
603 
238 
290 
873 
506 
236 
667 
109 
391 
392 
755 

834 
1109 

693 

333 
1679 

714 

133 

299 

618 

273 

806 

738 

242 

299 

579 

]57 

432 

213 

290 

820 

507 

948 

142 

225 
671 
442 



1272 1025 
788 645 



442 
267 
414 
1649 
710 
888 
810 
503 
495 
261 
940 
109 
493 
470 
921 
274 
1206 
780 
512 
2053 
1005 
150 
416 
775 1 
605 
334 
957 
295 
353 
741 
224 
622 
803 
311 
1069 
661 
737 
119 
245 
634 
578 
1119 



6566 
2500 
374 
392 
2536 
118 
474 
4433 
265 
1655 
371 
Totals 
1254 
179 
857 
7059 
25S3 
99 
199 
365 
4183 
49 
1003 
152 
751 
249 
1156 
326 
3767 
5448 
775 
2663 
173 
154 
217 
2263 
767 
208 
1055 
520 
590 
993 
116 
418 
135 
780 
595 
89 
4841 
2930 
416 
4706 
484 



6662 

2476 

334 I 

305 

2277 

113 

485 

4439 

238 

1733 

425 

832 

1293 

218 

863 

6370 

2478 

91 

194 

410 

4107 

59 

1130 

145 

700 

295 

1066 

215 

3595 

5790 

779 

2561 

1155 

159 I 

203 I 

2176 

712 

224 

1110 

412 

563 

963 I 

124 I 

473 

167 

742 

663 ! 



4345 
2822 

484 
48SS 

475 



2084 1 2131 



679 j 4204 j 42-17 



6103 i30594 j 4541 '26131 27334 32461 S1S38 ;82555 



232 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



The following table, prepared from the last United States 
Census, gives an interesting statistical sketch of the growth 
and character of the population of Mississippi, down to 
1850:— 





White 
IiiLabiUmts. 


Increase 
I'er cent. 


Free 
Colored. 


Slaves. 


Increase 
per cent. 


Total 
Population. 


1800 
1810 
1820 
1880 
1840 
1850 


5,179 

23,024 

• 42,176 

70,443 

179,074 

295,718 


344.5G 
83.18 
67.02 

154.21 
65.13 


182 
240 
458 
519 
1,306 
930 


3,489 

17,083 

32,814 

65,659 

195.211 

309,878 


389.76 

92.02 

100.09 

197.31 

5S.74 


8,850 

40,852 

75,448 

136,621 

375,651 

606,526 



We have no means of ascertaining the different profes- 
sions, occupations and trades, of the people in 1831 ; but 
the census of 1850 contains a table devoted to this subject, 
from which it appears that of a total male population of 
15,082, there were 44,833 engaged in farming ; 5,343 were 
planters ; 2,324 were overseers ; 2,281 w^ere students ; 
there were 1,506. merchants, 1,090 clerks, 5,403 laborers, 
1,211 physicians, 590 lawyers, 411 clergymen, and several 
thousand mechanics. As late as 1850, more than one-half 
of the free population were natives of other sections of the 
Union. A large proportion of them came from Xorth and 
South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. 

Mississippi was formed out of territory ceded to the 
United States by South Carolina ; and was admitted into the 
Union, December 10th, 1811. In size it is the thirteenth 
State in the Union, being considerably larger than either 
Pennsylvania or New York. It covers an area of 47,151 
square miles, is highly favored in situation ; — and has 
resources, agricultural and commercial, capable of almost 
unlimited development. In 1836, it had 1,048,530 acres of 
land under cultivation, and produced 311,183 bales of 
cotton. 

It is clear from these statements, that the great body of 



ELECTIONEERIXG TOUR, 233 

the electors of Mississippi were plain farmers and laboring- 
men. Many of them, moreover, came from different and 
distant parts of the country ; bringing with them, of course, 
their various local customs, prejudices and traditions. In 
each principal town could be found representatives — not 
only of every sectional — but of every party feeling in the 
United States. The popular assembly often contained men 
who had imbibed their earhest political sentiments from the 
lips of Henry Clay in Kentucky, of Andrew Jackson in Ten- 
nessee, of Calhoun in South Carolina, or of Daniel Webster in 
Isew England. Xot a few had always regarded the Rich- 
mond Enquirer as the oracle of public wisdom. Some were 
born Federalists, some iS'ullifiers ; others, Jeffersonian Repub- 
licans. Add to all this, a general dislike of Yankees — and the 
reader will see that Mr. Prentiss, in attempting to revolution- 
ize the politics of Mississippi, undertook a pretty difficult task ; 
one requiring no ordinary degree of skill and oratorical power. 
His letters give some account of the toil and travel 
attending this canvass ; but they afford no conception of 
the enthusiasm with which he was everywhere greeted. 
His fame had gone before him into every corner of the 
State ; the popular ear and eye were on the alert to see 
and hear one, whose pithy speeches and independent, manly 
course in the Legislature had already won for him uni- 
versal attention. The Whig newspapers of the day 
teemed with glowing reports of his reception and ad- 
dresses, as he passed in triumph from county to county. 
On each new occasion he seemed to surpass himself, and 
before he had completed the tour of the State, the convic- 
tion of his extraordinary character and abilities, long enter- 
tained by his friends, was the public opinion of Mississippi. 
Such was the victorious power of his eloquence, that he 
might have exclaimed concerning almost every spot he 
visited, — veni, mxi, vici ! His return to Yicksburg was like 



234 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS, 



that of a young general from the sudden conquest of a 
province. 

The following brief reminiscences of this canvass, may not 
be unacceptable to the reader. 

Ml*. Peextiss opened the campaign by a brilliant speech at 
Natchez, in the presence of a host of his oldest and most devoted 
personal friends. jSTothing could exceed the pride and gratifica- 
tion, with which they witnessed his political debut on this 
theatre, where he had gathered his earliest forensic laurels, and 
where, too, he had found his first home in the Southwest. 
Many in the crowd well remembered him, when eight years 
before, a. lame and lisping boy, he used to ride into and out 
of Natchez, charming all who met him, by his genial wit, his gay 
repartees and mirth-provoking Yankee stories. ISTone, who then 
knew him, where surprised to find the modest young school- 
master from New England, grown into the persuasive orator 
and ripe statesman ; for it was only the fulfillment of many a 
friendly prophecy. There was the utmost eagerness to hear 
him on the part of Democrats as well as Whigs ; the feeling was 
increased by the unbounded praises, which a speech, made by 
him in his native town during a recent visit North, had elicited 
from the Portland press. Notices of this speech were copied 
into the Mississippi papers, and naturally excited a very kindly 
sentiment towards him. He had reflected honor upon his 
adopted State in the most distant corner of the Republic. 

Among the many personal friends, who welcomed him on this 
occasion, the name of one ought not to be omitted — that of John 
M. Ross ; a young lawyer of eminent promise — accomplished, of 
fine literary taste, full of high aspirations, and the very soul of 
honor — but destined, alas ! in a few weeks for the grave. lie 
and Mr. Peextiss were most warmly attached to each other.* 



* In a lettei- of Gen. Quitman to Mr. P., dated Sept. 17, 1837, 1 find the following 
reference to this gentleman : 

" My Dear Prentiss : — 

I am scarcely recovered from the shock my feelings have sustained 
at the loss of our noble, gallant, and accomplished friend Ross, to reply to your 



ADDRESS AT XATCHEZ. 235 

Of Mr. P.'s address it is, of course, impossible, after the lapse 
of so many years, to give any fitting account. It related chiefly 
to the currency, then the all-absorbing question of the day. 
Edmund Burke, I tLink tlie remark is his, has observed that 
some of the most important convulsions in society, have grown 
out of money questions. The great civil revolution now in pro- 
cess throughout the country, and which was to be consummated 
by the Presidential election of 1840, was a striking instance in 
point. Mr. Peentiss had evidently studied with much care the 
whole subject, both in its theory and. practice. The masterly 
ability, with which he discussed it on this occasion, and the 
original, ever-varying and beautiful imagery, by which he illus- 
trated and enforced his arguments, impressed the entire audience 
with admiration. In sliowing how the Administration party 
had availed themselves of the vulgar prejudice against banks, 
and thus subsidized the Agrarian or Locofoco faction, then just 
emerging from the maze of i^ew York politics, he drew a pic- 
ture of the great national " wire-workers " and their operations, 
so graphic, exact, and characteristic, w^heel within wheel, that 
in your mind's eye, you seemed to see the vast machinery of 
partisan warfare in veritable motion. It called forth shouts of 
applause. In such descriptions, his oratory was " terrible as an 
army with banners ;" nothing could stand against the energy of 
his look, gesture, and impassioned logic, when once he was 
fairly under way, in depicting and denouncing the tricks, dupli- 
city and selfish cunning of mere party management. ISTo person, 
who ever listened to him when thus aroused, could doubt, for 
an instant, the intense sincerity and force of his convictions. 
Scorn of all meanness and double dealing, whether in one man 
or a million of men, appeared to be a dominant instinct of his 
nature. He had abundant opportunities of witnessing both 

letter, which came to my hands several days since. Alas ! I can hardly realize 
the fact that our brave and generous friend is no more. It was but a week since 
that, in a public speech, he pronounced upon your character one of the most elo- 
quent, chaste, and beautiful eulogiums I have ever listened to. It now sounds 
in my ears like the melody of the dying swan. He died of yellow fever, and has left 
a void among us, which cannot be filled. He was buried by the Fencibles with all 
the honors of war." — Ed. 



236 MEMOIR OF S. 3. PRENTISS. 

qualities during this canvass, and rarely afterwards did lie 
address the people, North or South, without expressing his 
abhorrence, and warning them against the perils, of what he 
called "political jugglery" and "thimble-rigging." This, of 
itself, imparted to his speeches a lofty moral tone, which could 
not fail to impress his bitterest opponents with respect. Even 
when dealing with their opinions raos.t severely, and, as they 
felt, most unjustly, they readily admitted that he did it "all 
in honor," and were not unfrequently the first to congratulate 
him on his unrivalled eloquence! 

In the address at Natchez, and, as far as I know, throughout 
the canvass, his tone, when speaking of his opponents fermnally^ 
was, in the highest degree, courteous and dignified. There 
could be no better proof of this than the fact, that the Adminis- 
tration organ at Natchez ; — a new^spaper, characterized at that 
time, like too many of the party presses, by a spirit of extreme 
violence and blackguardism, admitted, in noticing the speech the 
next day, that in the treatment of his opponents, Mr. Peextiss 
made use of only one exceptionable word. But this was only a 
momentary admission, elicited by a sudden impulse of honor and 
fair dealing. As soon as Mr. P. had left town, there were let loose 
upon him from this, and subsequently from other Administration 
presses in the State, full volleys of poison-dipt slanders and mis- 
representations.* Not that the editors of these presses had any 
private pique against him, or failed to admire his splendid talents 
and frank, generous bearing ; but it was a part of the game, by 
which they hoped to secure his defeat. If Mr. Peextiss after- 
wards lost somewdiat of that amenity and kindliness of tone 
towards his opponents, which distinguished his treatment of 
them at this time (and it cannot be denied that he occasionally 



* In the letter of Gen. Quitman, already cited, I find the following allusion to this 

subject : — " The infamous attempts of and his advisers, to injure you, will not 

succeed. You have already a specimen of the low malignity of the wire-workers 
here. All decent men regard with abhorrence the late assassin-like stab at your 
character. It is beneath your notice. I trust that your health will be preserved, 
and that you will energetically follow up the vigorous onset you have made. If 
you fail, I shall despair of the Republic."— Ed. 



ELECTIONEERING TOUR. 237 

did), it was partly, no d©ubt, in consequence of the irritating 
effect of these rude assaults. A man's political nerves must bo 
made of iron — and in this country, they should be composed of 
no softer stuff — not to grow sensitive under such abrasion- 
It was no wonder that there should have been a strong desire 
to prevent Mr. P.'s election. His speech at ;N"atchez had sent 
terror into the Administration ranks, and it was instantly decided 
by their leaders that the owner of such a tongue would be a 
very troublesome member of the House of Eepresentatives, at 
Washington, and ought by no means to have a chance of wag- 
ging it there. But all their efforts were in vain. He had "set 
the ball in motion," and it continued to roll with irresistible 
force until the battle was won. I doubt if a more signal instance 
of the triumph of personal appeal and argument over party dis- 
cipline, prejudice, and hostile opinions, can easily be pointed out 
in the history of Congressional elections. In the ]!:Torthem sec- 
tion of the State, a very strong feeling had been aroused against 
him, on account of his course in the Legislature upon the ques- 
tion of admitting the members from the New Counties ; but his 
frank explanation of the motives which governed him, changed 
that feeling into cordial approval, and nowhere was he more 
warmly sustained than in these very counties.* 



* When Mr. Prentiss reached HoUy Springs, it -n^as ascertained that Judge Hu- 
ling TTOuld decline the nomination, and much diflELculty -n-as encountered in supply- 
ing his place. The Whigs were in a minority in the State, and especially in the 
ten Chickasaw counties — and Mr. P. was more unpopular in those counties 
than the Whig cause, in consequence of his coui-se in the Legislature. At length 
my name was placed on the ticket, from my supposed personal popularity. My 
friends would not permit me to decline. Mr. Prextiss canvassed the whole State 
— and here, in my own section, where it was expected I would give Jiim, strength, 
he beat me. lie beat me even in my own county. I have often thought that I 
occupied, in that race, about the relation to Mr. P. that a yawl on the Mississippi 
river sustains to a splendid steamboat ! 

He was a gi-eat favorite with all classes of the people — all learned from him, and, 
therefore, he suited all. In politics, as in his private relations, Jionesty was his 
guiding star. But I am at a loss to speak of him in a general manner ; for he was 
altogether out of the general order of men. He was, certainly, the great man, not 
only of Mississippi but of the Southwest— and from the end of this remarkable 
canvass, few could pretend to compete with him for the honor of being so regarded. 

Letter from Mr. Word. 



238 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

In the midst of the canvass, Mr.YanBui-en's message at the called 
session arrived, a document which excited great dissatisfaction 
among the Democrats, while it was everywhere regarded by the 
"Whigs as virtually identifying the financial policy of the admin- 
istration with the absurd and destructive doctrine of the Loco 
Focos. Indeed, the general designation of the party in power 
by the name of that sect, dates from this period, and was in con- 
sequence of Kr. Van Buren's message. An interesting and most 
instructive essay, by the way, might be written upon the rise 
and influence of party-names in the United States since the 
establishment of the Constitution. It it is a pity some competent 
person would not undertake the task. The terms FederalUt^ 
Jeffersonian Eejniblican^ National Eepublican., Jackson-man^ 
Democrat and Whig^ Free-Soilei\ and the like, contain, each one 
of them, a valuable pohtical history. 

Mr. Yan Buren's message, and the cheering news of great 
"Whig victories in Tennessee, New Jersey, Ehode Island, Maine, 
and other States, doubtless helped to determine the result in 
I^ovember. But notwithstanding, it was mainly Mr. P.'s own 
extraordinary exertions which secured the triumph. From 
.beginning to end of the campaign, the eyes of the whole 
party were turned upon him as their champion ; and when, 
at its close, victory rested upon the Whig banner, he was 
hailed by acclamation as the hero of the contest. The rejoicing 
of his friends at this result was unbounded; for they well 
knew what honor he would reflect upon Mississippi. Their joy 
was heightened by the deep mortification which, in common 
with many intelligent -Democrats, they felt at losing, through 
the folly of a double ticket, a Whig governor, and the con- 
sequent election to that important office (alack the day !) of 
Alexander Mc]^utt — destined to unenviable notoriety as the 
Great Eepudiator. 

From this time to that of his abandoning the State, S. S. 
Prentiss was the pride, the delight, and the chosen standard- 
bearer of the Whigs of Mississippi. 

The following extracts from a letter, written at the time, 



ELECTIONEERING TOUR. 239 

may not be uninteresting in connection with the above. It 
is dated Benton, Miss.j Sept. 4, 183t. Several chapters 
might readily be filled with similar letters from all parts of 
the State. 

The voice of the eloquent and patriotic Prentiss had scarcely 
died away upon my ears, when I seated myself to announce to 
you, that he addressed a very large assembly of his fellow-citi- 
zens of Yazoo in this place to-day. ITever in my life do I recol- 
lect to have seen so delighted an audience, manifested by the 
breathless attention which they gave the speaker for the space 
of over two hours. Although there were those present who are 
commonly known as Yan Buren men, and consequently are dis- 
posed to entertain different political opinions from Mr. Prentiss, 
there were none who exhibited, throughout the address, any 
other feeling than that of the utmost satisfaction. Although Mr. 
P. was unsparing in his denunciation of what is commonly called 
" the ex2)erimenV upon the currency of the country, yet he was 
strictly courteous towards those who had the misfortune to differ 
with him in opinion. He said he came not amongst us to tear 
open old political wounds, or to excite old political feuds. That 
was not his business. He came here, he said, as the humble ad- 
vocate of great political principles — principles which intimately 
concerned the well-being and happiness not only of every man 
who heard him, but of the whole people of the United States. 
He asked not office simply because he was a member of a parti- 
cular party. He believed that a period had arrived in our coun- 
try when something must be done by legislation, or our most 
sacred rights, if not our liberties, would be wrested from us 
amidst the general wreck of property. * * * 

"Would to God every citizen of Yazoo could have heard this 
masterly speech ! I wish much I could do it justice — but that 
is utterly impossible. Mr. Prentiss, if elected, will make a proud 
representative for Mississippi. His eloquent voice could do much 
in these trying times to stay the waves of corruption, which are 
rolling over the land. 



240 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

The people of Holly Springs insisted upon his partaking 
of a banquet with them before going on his way. Some of 
the sentiments offered on this occasion, show better than 
any description could do, the political temper of the day, as 
well as the feelings excited by Mr. P.'s address. The fol- 
following are samples : 

The good old EepiLblican Principles — iTay they soon take 
place of the new-fangled democracy. 

Our Country and our Government — One and indivisible — the 
same cm'rency for each. 

S. S. Prentiss — ^Like the mighty men of old, may he traverse 
our country round, and wherever he goes, leave deep impressions 
of political truths upon every human heart. 

8. 8. Prentiss — A scholar and a statesman worthy of our con- 
fidence — may we be honored with him as our Representative in 
Congress. 

8. 8. Prentiss — The Champion of Mississippi — Huzza for him 
and the JSTational Bank. 

The Ides of Noteniber — May they show that the people of 
Korth Mississippi feel a returning sense of justice towards our 
distinguished guest. 

The following letters will fittingly close the account of 
this canvass : 

TO HIS YOUNGEST BROTHER. 

Columbus, SIiss., October 6, 1837. 
Dear George : — 

Since I wrote you last from Vicksburg, I have 
been upon my electioneering campaign, and so busily have I 
been engaged, that this is absolutely the first opportunity for 
sending you a line, which has occurred to me. I have visited 
about half the counties, containing two-thirds of the population 
of the State. I have made about fifty stump speeches, averaging 
in length two hours each, and have ridden thirty miles a day ; so 
you see that electioneering is no sinecure. I am much pleased 



LETTERS. 241 

with my prospects, and should not wonder if I was successful in 
the canvass, notwithstanding my prognostications to the con- 
trary. I have visited the counties most hostile to me (the new 
counties)j and think I have in a great degree succeeded in re- 
moving their prejudices. I have had an arduous but pleasant 
and healthy time of it. I have been several times lost in the 
woods, and out nearly all night among the Indians, of whom 
we have G or 7,000 in the State. The election in July, I am 
satisfied, was no test of the strength of the Whig party, and I 
make proselytes every time I make a speech. My health is fine 
and my spirits good. I shall continue my exertions till the day 
of the election (first Monday in ISTovember), by which time I 
shall have completed the tour of the whole State. I have, how- 
ever, accomplished the most difficult part of my labor, and have 
now to visit the older counties. One of these times, tell Anna, 
I intend to give her an account of some of my adventures, which 
will be equal to a romance; though, to be sure, an election- 
eering hero will be somewhat of a curiosity. After the day of 
election, I shall return immediately to Yicksburg. Times are 
terribly bad in this country, and, at present, there is but a 
small prospect of better. I will write again soon. My love to 
vou all. In haste, 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



TO WM. 0. SMEDES, ESQ., V I K S B U E G . 

Columbus, Oct. 8, 1837. 

Dear Smedes: — 

I arrived at this place day before yesterday, but 
this is the first moment of leisure which has been afforded me. 
I have visited all the western and northern counties, and have 
little doubt of my success in November. I have experienced a 
favorable reception in the Chickasaw counties, far exceeding my 
most sanguine expectations, and believe I have succeeded in 
removing all the prejudice arising out of my course on the 
Chickasaw question. 

We were all mistaken and made a great faux pas in the nomi- 

11 



242 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS, 

nation of Judge Huling. He has declined running. We have, 
iiowever, a candidate in the field, who will answer the purpose 
as well us Huling. Thomas J. Word, Esq., a member of the bar 
at Pontatoc, has been nominated at that place, and also here. 
He has taken the field, and will prove an efficient aid to our 
cause. He is a gentleman of high standing, both for charac- 
ter and ability. He is perfectly orthodox in his views, and 
advocates precisely the doctrines contained in my circular. Mr. 
Word is popular in the new counties and will be of great service 
there. 

Yon must have his name run up at once in our Whig papers, 
and let it be generally known. Our friends in the west must 
support him unanimously on the ticket with me, for I have 
assured him he will receive the full support of the party there.* 
He will confine his canvassing to the Chickasaw and Choctaw 
counties, while I shall take the eastern counties. This is the 
arrangement between us. By concert and action on the part 
of our friends, our ticket is certain to succeed. I have had a 
laborious but agreeable time, and have not visited a single 
county in which I have not received great encouragement. 
Indeed, I doubt not that three-fourths of the people are in favor 
of a National Bank. I have visited about twenty-six counties, and 
made some forty speeches. In Marshall^ I think we shall divide 
the county, or perhaps get a majority. I have not been in a 
single county in which there v,ill not be a change in our favor 
in November. Try and let it be as generally known as possible, 
that Mr. Word is a candidate, and is now on the stump before 
the people, and is the right sort of a man in every respect, 

I have not time to write as fully as I wish, and perhaps shall 
not write again. Assure all my friends that if they will exert 
themselves, our success is certain. Show Guion this, as I have 
no time to write another letter. In haste, 

Your friend, 

S. S. Prentiss. 

* Mr. Word's vote, -which, in other parts of the State, fell behind that of Mr. 
Prentiss more than 1,300, was in Warren, Mr. P.'s own county, exactly the same — 
viz. 870.— Ed. 



LETTERS. 243 

TO HIS YOUNGEST BK OTHER. 

ViCKSBDEG, JVbv. 14, 1837. 

Dear George: — 

1 reiiirned two or three days since from my elec- 
tioneering tour, and have delayed writing till I could give you 
some information as to the result. I have had sufficient returns 
to assure me of my election by a larger vote than either Claiborne 
or Gholson got in July. Though man}^ of the Democrats would 
not vote at all, yet I anticipate a full majority of the whole 
strength of the State, polled and unpolled. My election by a 
large majority of the votes given, I consider placed beyond 
doubt. As you anticipate in your last letter, I shall claim my 
seat, and armed with the great " democracy of numbers," as tlio 
Democrats call it, I have some hopes of procuring a reversal of 
the outrageous and party-vote in Congress. Claiborne and 
Gholson have ruined themselves by their course, which has 
created very great excitement here. I visited forty-five counties 
during my canvass, and performed a task in riding and talking 
unparalleled, I imagine, in electioneering annals. For ten weeks, 
I averaged upward of thirty miles a day on horseback, and 
spoke two hours each week day. I had my appointments made 
in advance through the State, and did not miss a single one, rain_ 
or shine. I enjoyed excellent health during the trip. In 
about two weeks, if I am not much mistaken in my calcula- 
tions, I shall be wending my way to the Federal City, though 
I consider it extremely doubtful whether I succeed in ob- 
taining the seat. I found a number of letters from home on 
my return, and need not assure you that they were welcome 
messengers. I was much alarmed to hear of mothers illness, 
but trust, from your last, that she has entirely recovered. It 
was fortunate yoti had moved before it occurred, on account of 
the superior comfort of your present situation. S. was here on 
my return, and is still with me. He is well and in good spirits. 
I shaU write again soon, giving you more fully the result of the 
election as I learn it. My love to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 
• Seaegent. 



244 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



CHAPTER X. 

Arrives in Washington — The Lower House of Congress iii 1S3S — Mississippi Con- 
tested Election — His first Speecli on claiming his Seat — The Admiration it excited 
— Mr. Webster's and Mr. Fillmore's Opinions of it — Mr. Legare's Reply to it — His 
second Speech — What followed — The final Result — Is rejected — An Error corrected 
touching a Remark of Mr. Clay — Public Dinner on the Eve of his Return to Missis- 
sippi and a Union Speech of Mr. Webster — Letters. 

^T. 29. 1838. 

,He did not reach Washingtou until near the end of the 
year. The day after his arrival he wrote home : 

Washington City, Dec. 27, 1837. 

Dear George : — 

I am at length in the " city of magnificent dis- 
tances." I arrived here last evening, after an exceedingly tedious 
and disagreeable trip np the river and across the mountains. I 
left Vicksburg about the 10th inst., not so soon by two weeks as 
I had expected ; but the returns of the election came in so slowly 
and I had so much private business to arrange, that it was im- 
possible for me to leave at an earlier period. I see, however, 
that some of the newspapers have had me here for a fortnight, 
and one of the letter writers has even taken the liberty of re- 
signing for me. I have not yet arranged my plan of operations, 
but shall do so in a day or two. I wish, first, to look about me 
and see how the land hes. I have my credentials and everything 
necessary for presenting the matter in the most imposing atti- 
tude. I shall have a vigorous contest, and the result is doubt- 
ful ; but my impression is that I shall obtain the seat. There 
would be no difficulty in the case, were it not that it will be 
made a party question ; and the Van Buren party are in too des- 



LETTERS. 245 

IJerate ca condition to give up, without a struggle, the two votes 

of Claiborne and Gholson. By the by, Gholson is very sick, and 

will not be able to participate in the discussion or to appear in 

the House. Personally I care very little for the result. I have 

achieved a triumph in the election, sufficient to satisfy my ambi 

tion. I received the largest vote ever cast in the State, between 

two and three thousand more than Claiborne received in July 

last, and that too in the face of the most bitter and unprincipled 

opposition. But enough at present of politics. I shall keep you 

informed of the progress of events as they occur. I found here 

a letter from you and also one from Anna, and I shall expect a 

letter from some of you at least once a week while I am in the 

city. Tell A. I will order the Intelligencer for her. My love 

to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

S. S. Peextiss. 



TO niS SISTER ABBT. 
^ , Washington City, Jan. 1, 1S3S. 

Deae Abby : — 

I do not believe that I have written to you for a 
very long period. I will, therefore, make amends by commenc- 
ing a new year and a letter to you at the same time. And first 
let me wish you all, a happy, Ticqjpy new year. I would almost 
give my chance for a seat in Congress to be with you to-day. 
As it is, I am all alone, looking into books, papers, and docu- 
ments of all sorts, to prepare myself for a speech in the case of 
"the Mississippi Election;" but every moment or two my 
thoughts wander away to Portland, and leave the rights of the 
people of the State of Mississippi to take care of themselves. 
But I am with you in fancy, for I am so near you now, that im- 
agination has httle difficulty in accomplishing the rest of the way. 
I wrote to George the day after I arrived here, since which no- 
thing of importance has occurred. I presented my credentials 
to the House ; they were referred to the Committee on Elections, 
•with instructions to report the facts of the case, and I imagine 



246 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

that in tlie course of a week the committee will report. There- 
upon a discii-~sion of a week or two, I suppose, will follow, in 
which I shall participate, and at the end of that period a final 
decision will take place. I am at present strongly inclined to 
think that I shall succeed in obtaining the seat, though it is diflS- 
cult to judge as to the result of the case, on account of the strong 
party-feeling which is excited in relation to it. I feel but little 
interest in the matter, except that my pride is somewhat invol- 
ved. If I am not admitted, I shall come on and see you at once. 
If I am admitted, I shall not be able to leave until the end of the 
session. You must all write me, and that often, and I shall keep 
you advised of everything of interest which occurs to me. My 
love to all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaege:s't. 

The Lower House of Congress embraced, at this time, an 
unusually fair rei3resentatiou of the political talents and 
intelligence of the Nation. The names of a portion of its 
members yet survive ; some few of them will be likely to 
last as long as the Kepublic ; but the greater number 
already are buried in oblivion^ or known only in the local 
circles to which they retired. It is interesting to look over 
an old Journal of Congress, and then reflect on the ephemeral 
character of popular honors, as indicated by such a review; 
a young man, tempted to barter away his self-respect and 
independence of opinion in exchange for some transitory 
office, could hardly be put to a more salutary task. In no 
other way, perhaps, could he better learn, that political 
fame is a very rare attainment — the fruit of great abilities, 
combined with uncommon toil, patient study, experience 
and favoring circumstances — and that, therefore, the pur- 
suit of it by ordinary men is utterly visionary. Even 
the most brilliant talents for public affair's, win only a 
passing notoriety, unless backed by time, fortune, and sub- 



LOWER HOUSE OF CONGRESS IX 1838. 24t 

stantial labor. If Henry Clay, Webster, and Calhoun, had 
all died at the age of forty, distinguished as they even then 
were, how small a figure would either of them have made 
in the history of this country, compared with the colossal 
space which his fame will now occupy ! 

Among the members of the House at this session, were 
the venerable Ex-President John Quincy Adams ; Millard 
Fillmore ; Thomas Corwin, of Ohio ; James K. Polk ; 
Messrs. Bell and Hunter, now members of the Senate ; 
George Evans, of Maine ; Levi Lincoln and Caleb Cushing, 
of Mass. ; Ogden Hoffman, of N. Y ; Henry A. Wise, of 
Virginia ; Legare, of South Carolina ; Wm. C. Dawson, of 
Ga. ; John Sergeant, of Pa. : and others distinguished then, 
or since, in public life. 

The interest of the Mississippi contested election was 
very much enhanced by the precarious and nearly balanced 
state of parties in the House. The financial policy of the 
Administration had 1-oosened the confidence of many of its 
friends, and already were several of them on the point of 
deserting it. The members from Mississippi, chosen at the 
special election, were not of this number ; their votes were 
safely to be relied on ; upon their retaining their seats, 
therefore, the Executive policy was quite likely to depend. 
Some of the weightiest measures ever adopted by Congress, 
and not a few of the most momentous national and State 
elections, have turned, as is well known, upon the suffrage- 
of one or two men ; so that the importance of a single vote 
has passed into a proverb. 

It seems, at this dav, almost incredible, that there should 
have been two opinions among intelligent men, concerning 
the claim of Messrs. Word and Prentiss to seats in the 
House of Representatives, on presenting their credentials 
to that body. Xow that the motives and passions of the 
hour have passed away, the case appears plain as dayliglit; 



248 MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTISS. 

its bare statement is a demonstration of the right. But it 
is no easy matter to see even daylight against the compul- 
sion, or bhnd instinct of party feeling and discipline. Truth 
itself looks false in the presence of such influences. ]N'or is 
this to be regarded as wholly the fault of individuals, or as a 
pecuharity of any one party. For it lies in the very nature 
of parties, whether political or religious, that their members 
should be more or less their unreasoning instruments ; and 
that the spirit and interests of the body should predominate 
over all other considerations. In this fact consists both the 
good and evil of this species of organization ; it is at once 
the ground of its efSciency and of its debasing, odious 
despotism. One party may be constructed upon broader, and 
more beneficent principles, or be animated by greater intel- 
ligence and w^isdom than another ; and in that case, it will, 
of course, be likely to contain a larger number of men who 
think and judge for themselves ; but in itself considered, 
the spirit of party, v>'hether in Church or State, is always and 
essentially dictatorial, intolerant and one-eyed ; only minds 
of the highest quality are able to rise above, or to see 
beyond it. To expect that in excited times, and especially 
on questions involving important party interests, the many 
will act from the impulses of that magnanimity, candor, love 
of truth and reverence for justice, which belong only to the 
noble, elect few, is a visionary hope ; one might almost as 
well look for stones soaring, like birds, into the air. 

The facts, bearing upon the Mississippi contested election^ 
were briefly these : In consequence of President Tan 
Buren's proclamation, calling a special Session of Congress, 
Governor Lynch, of Mississippi, issued a writ, command- 
ing the sheriffs to hold an election for Representatives, 
to fill what he regarded as a constitutional " vacancy," 
" until superseded hy the members to he elected at the next regit- 
lar election, on the first Monday and day following, in Novem- 



MISSISSIPPI CONTESTED ELECTIOX. 249 

her oiextP At this special election, which occurred iu July, 
Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson were chosen ; and received 
their credentials from the Governor for the period anterior 
to the Xovember election. At the regular election in 
IS'ovember, Messrs. Prentiss and Word, as we have seen, 
were chosen by a large majority to supersede Claiborne and 
Gholson. But, in the mean time, these latter gentlemen 
had been declared by a resolution of the House, to be duly 
elected members of the whole twenty-fifth Congress ; upon 
presenting their credentials'^ to the House, therefore, 
Messrs. Prentiss and Word found their seats pre-occupied. 

The cjuestion, thus arising, led to an elaborate discussion 
of more than two weeks. Xo case of contested election ever 
before had created such universal interest. Indeed, no 
similar case had occurred since the establishment of the 
Constitution. The excitement in Congress was vehement, 
and it was felt throughout the country. This was owing in 
no small degree, as has been said, to the nicely-balanced 

* The following is a copy of the certificate of election : 

THE STATE OP MISSISSIPPI. 

Executive Office. 

Jackson, Dec. 4, A. J). 1837. 

Whereas, an election -was held in this State on the first Monday, and the day fol- 
lowing, in November, A. D. 1837, according to the Constitution of the United States, 
and the constitution and laws of Mississippi, for Representatives of the United 
States of America ; and, whereas, it appears from the official returns, made to the 
office of the Secretary of State, that Seargent S. Prentiss and Thomas J. Word 
received, each, a majority of the whole number of votes cast for Representatives to 
Congress, 

Now, therefore, I, Charles Lynch, Governor of the State of Mississippi, do hereby 
certify that said Seargent S. Prentiss and Thomas J. Word are duly, and according 
to the Constitution of the United States, and the constitution and laws of the State 
of Mississippi, elected Representatives in Congress from the State of Mississippi, to 
serve for the 25th Congress of the United States of America. In testimony where- 
of, I have caused the great seal of the State to be herewith affixed, at the city of 
Jackson, the Capital of said State, this 4th day of December, A. D. 1S37. 

Charles Lvucai. 

By the Governor : 

Barry W. Burr, Secretary of State. 

11* 



250 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

state of parties in the House, and also to the vital import- 
ance of the principles involved ; but it was, in the end, still 
more owing to the masterly ability and eloquence of the 
youthful claimant. 

Yery few of his auditors had ever heard or seen him, 
while to most of them his very name was, until a short time 
before, entirely unknown. Yague reports, however, of his 
remarkable character had preceded him to Washington City, 
and his Mississippi friends, who chanced to be at the Capi- 
tal, were not backward to make th'eir boast of him. In- 
deed, nobody, who had once heard him at the bar or on the 
stump, seemed to feel the slightest doubt of his triumph. 
This, of course, only increased the difficulty and responsi- 
bility of his position. "I am much gratified," writes Ex- 
Governor Quitman to him, January 11, " to learn from your 
letter of the first instant that the State has fair prospects 
of being represented by the men of her choice and not by 
counterfeits. I have never doubted that you would succeed 
in obtaining your seat. I could not doubt it. Congress 
dare not refuse our claim to representation. You have taken 
precisely the proper course. Insist upon it. Kever give it 
up. We await with great anxiety further information on 
this vital question. I long to see you on the floor. I wish, 
sincerely wish, that I were with you. * * Your many 
friends here are looking with very great interest upon your 
movements. Much is expected from you. If you have am- 
bition for distinction, you will not be sorry to find yourself 
and colleague, from a combination of circumstances, placed 
in a most conspicuous position before the whole Union. I 
have no fears for you. I have confidence not only in your 
talents, but in your discretion and tact." So far as con- 
cerned the defence of his claim, these friendly anticipations 
were not disappointed. The delight and admiration, called 
forth by his opening speech, knew no bounds. On the day 



SPEECH OX CLAIMING HIS SEAT. 251 

set apart for him to address the House, nearly all the mem- 
bers were in their seats, the galleries were crowded, and 
every eye and ear were fixed in eager expectation. His 
first sentence riveted the attention of the whole audience, 
and each succeeding sentence increased the surprise and 
pleasure awakened by the first. Some, anticipating an out- 
burst of fervid but unpolished declamation, were charmed to 
find themselves listenino: to an orator, whose logic was as 
accurate and subtle as that of a schoolman, while the fairest 
gems of literary culture adorned his rhetoric. Others, ex- 
pecting a violent partisan harangue, were no less astonished to 
find themselves in the presence of a statesman and jurist, dis- 
cussing, with patriotic zeal, a great principle of constitutional 
lavr. He had not spoken long ere the fact was noised through 
the other wing of the Capitol, and soon one after another 
of the grave Senators was seen gliding into the House. 

Before he had concluded his argument, which lasted into 
the third day, the anxiety to hear him became intense. ' The 
galleries were crowded to suffocation, chiefly by ladies ; the 
lobbies and every vacant spot on the floor of the Hall were 
thronged by Senators, ex-members of Congress, officers of 
the Army and Navy, members of State Legislatures on a 
visit to the Capital, eminent Jurists and Judges, distin- 
guished private citizens, and Foreign Ministers. At one 
time, as your eye glanced around and surveyed the scene, it 
was arrested, at every turn, by the presence of some illustri- 
ous man. Directly in front of the chair, sat John Quincy 
Adams, the Nestor of the House ; just outside the bar (on 
the opposite side of the Hall), his tall figure towering above 
its fellows, stood Henry Clay, generalissimo of the Whig 
forces, watching with delight his young friend's manful 
defence ; near him were Judge White, of Tennessee, a 
white-haired patriarch of his party ; Preston, the eloquent 
Southern Senator, and Crittenden, the no less eloquent Ken- 



252 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

tuckian • close by rose the massive form of Daniel Webster, 
whose countenance, grave, unmoved, and almost sombre in 
its aspect, betokened the most profound attention. It was, 
indeed, a splendid assembly, illumined by a galaxy of genius, 
worth, statesmanship, beauty and station such as meet to- 
gether but rarely in a generation — such as Edmund Burke, 
Charles Fox, or George Canning might have felt honored in 
addressing. A breathless silence reigned from beginning to 
end, except as some fine passage ever and anon occasioned 
suppressed applause from the galleries. The speaker him- 
self was evidently surprised to observe the magical power he 
was wielding.^' He had never before addressed such an 
audience ; and when he witnessed the rapt attention and 
caught in their look the mystic signs of delight and 
approval from such veteran statesmen and orators as John 
Quincy Adams, Clay and Webster — men, whose names and 
noble eloquence had been the inspiration of his boyhood — 
no wonder if he was greatly excited and somewhat aston- 
ished at himself. Still both the excitement and surprise were 
chiefly those of unusual pleasure — the pure gaudia certa- 
minis. His entire self-possession never failed him for an in- 
stant ; there was no straining for effect, no trick of oratory ; 
but from the first to the last sentence, everything, in manner 
as in matter, seemed perfectly natural, as if he were address- 
ing a jury on an ordinary question of law. Indeed, the 
great charm of this, as of all his speeches, was the simple, 
unfeigned sincerity which marked his whole bearing and 
every word he uttered. He felt that he was asserting a 
great principle, and, in his devotion to that, seemed to for- 
get all personal claim. 



* After we had been at Washington some time, Mr. Prentiss expressed to me 
his fears lest he should not be able to sustain himself. But when the trial came, he 
excelled himself. Nobody had formed any correct idea of his transcendent powers. 
I do not believe he was conscious of them himself. — LeUer from, Mr. Word. 



SPEECH OX CLABIIXG HIS SEAT. 353 

His peroration was short, but it thrilled the immense 
assemblage like an electric touch. Much of its force was 
owing to the tones of his voice, the glow of his eye and 
countenance, his peculiarly earnest manner, and the hidi 
wrought feelings of his hearers ; but no one can read it even 
now, without admiring its skill and beauty. 

The moment he had finished, his friends flocked around 
him with their enthusiastic congratulations, in which they 
were joined by not a few of his political opponents. 

As Mr. Webster left the Hall, he remarked to a friend, 
with comprehensive brevity : '' Xobody could equal it !" 
And this may suffice as a sample of the innumerable compli- 
ments elicited by his speech. It is still remembered with 
wonder by all who heard it. Few members of the House 
were less likely to be misled by false oratory than Ex-Presi- 
dent Fillmore. In a letter, dated Buffalo, Xov. 28, 1853, 
he writes : " I can never forget that speech. It was, cer- 
tainly, the most brilliant that I ever heard, and, as a whole, 
I think it fully equalled, if it did not exceed, any rhetorical 
effort to which it has been my good fortune to listen in 
either House of Congress. It elevated him at once to the 
first rank of Congressional orators, and stamped his short 
but brilliant parliamentary career with the impression of un- 
doubted genius, and the highest oratorical powers. I have 
never read the published speech, but I apprehend it is not 
possible that it should convey to the reader any adequate 
idea of the effect produced by its delivery." 

The feeling among his friends in Mississippi, upon hearing 
of his opening speech, is shown by the following extract 
from a letter of Judge George Winchester, of ISTatchez, a 
man unusually venerated for his many virtues, and who 
regarded Mr. Prentiss with an almost paternal affection. 
He writes, under date of Jackson, J-anuary 29, 1838 : — 
*' The news that you had delighted a crowded auditory with 



254 ^ MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

the commencement of a speech, transported me. After 
hearing you, I am sure, a majority of the House could not 
decide against you. You will have obtained your seat 
before this reaches you. I do not doubt the result. You 
were admitted at once as soon as you had finished the dis- 
cussion. I would have travelled to Washington, if business 
would have permitted, for the bare pleasure of hearing your 
speech and witnessing its triumph. Yet here I feel a glow 
of triumph ; it runs warm through my veins, and animates 
and enlivens me like a shout of victorv — like Homer's 
description of the eloquence of a Kestor or Ulysses, or as 
reading the most vivid passages in Shakespeare. Our 
courts are in session, and I am surrounded with persons 
talking to me in my room. If my letter is full of blunders, 
I have no time to correct them. The Chancellor tells me 
to send his respects, and says there is no man whose success 
pleases him more. God bless you." 

The printed speech is little more than a skeleton. Even 
the few rhetorical passages, that are retained, have lost 
much of their original form and beauty. The professional 
stenographers confessed themselves utterly baffled in the 
attempt to report him ; and he was quite as unfitted to re- 
port himself. Indeed, he complained that ha never could 
reproduce the best thoughts, still less the exact language, 
of his speeches. Impatient and little practised in the use 
of the pen, he spoke not only with more power, but in bet- 
ter style than he wrote. 

The following letter gives his own brief account of the 
speech : — 

Washington Citt, Jan. CO, 1S3S. 
Dea-E Geoege : — 

The " Mississippi Election" is at length upon the 

carpet. You have, probably, already learned by the newspapers 

that I have, in parliamentary phrase, been for three days on my 



11. S. LEGARE. 255 

lega ; in other word.^, I have made a tliree days' speech, and I 
have no doubt have convinced the House that I ought to be ad- 
mitted. At any rate, as I tell them, whether they let me in or 
not, I have got my sliare of the session ; for if they divide it out, 
it will hardly aflbrd three days apiece. I suppose you will won- 
der what I could talk about so long. That's more than I can 
tell you ; though I have no doubt it was a sensible speech, from 
the fact that I had an attentive house and crowded galleries, 
from the latter of which I several times received very audible 
signs of approbation. Could I have put it to vote in the galle- 
ries, especially among the ladies, I should have been admitted at 
once. But in good earnest, I feel highly gratified and flattered 
by what, I am told, was an unusual attention and interest on the 
part of the House. Many of the most distinguished senators hon- 
ored me with their presence, such as Webster, Clay, Preston, &o., 
so that I wanted but one thing to have made me very happy, and 
that was, that you should all iiave been present. I have dined 
with all the above-named gentlemen, since I have been here, 
yesterday with Mr. Webster and famil}-, and have full as much 
attention as is agreeable to my modesty. I am more than ever 
of opinion that I shall obtain my seat, tliough it will be a very 
close vote, and I may be mistaken, I will not say disappointed". 
In the course of two or three weeks, as soon as the matter is 
decided, I will draw up the heads or substance of my speech and 
have it published, though I shall not be able to do myself justice 
in writing it: off. My love to you all. 

Your afi:ectionate brother, 

Seaegext. 

More than a week was consumed by members of the Ad- 
ministration party in asserting the claims of Messrs. Clai- 
borne and GholsoD, and answering the argument of Mr. 
Prentiss. The-last speaker on that side was the accomp- 
lished Legare, of South Carolina ; a gentleman who surpas- 
sed nearly all the public men of his time in the depth, accu- 
racy and extent of his classical attainments. The articles 



256 



MEMOIR OF S. S. TREXTISS. 



on Demosthenes, the Athenian Democracy, and kindred 
topics, contributed bj him to the New York Review, show an 
acquaintance with ancient literature and politics, which 
would do credit to a German Gelehrter ; few things equal 
to them have ever been written on this side of the Atlantic. 
His early death was an irreparable loss to the cause of good 
learning, civil jurisprudence and cultivated statesmanship in 
the United States. 

Ou the present occasion a crowded house assembled to 
hear him ; but his speech was not considered equal to his 
reputation. His biographer himself intimates that "bril- 
liant as was the figure which he made throughout that Con- 
gress on all other questions in which he took part," his 
effort in the Mississippi Contested Election was a failure, 
and that in this instance '' he certainly got upon the wrong 
side.'^'* 

On the 31st of January, Mr. Prentiss took the floor in 
reply. This second speech, while hardly behind the first in 
logical power and happy illustration, perhaps in some re- 
spects even surpassed it. The various arguments, which, 
for seven or eight days in succession, had been repeated by 
one speaker after another against the claims of Word and 
himself, aroused his feelings to the highest pitch. They 
seemed to indicate a foregone conclusion that the question 
was to be decided on the ground of party and not of justice. 
Their weakness, too, as well as the dull, tedious manner in 
which some of them had been presented, afforded him a good 
chance for exercising his unrivalled powers of wit and ridi- 
cule. Nothing called out the whole of his intellectual forces 
like strong opposition ; and he never used them with greater 
skill or effect than at a^ retort. He was especially gratified 
in having such an antagonist as Legare, and no doubt the 

* Writing H of Legare, vol. i., p. f>."). 



MISSISSIPPI COXTESTFD ELECTION. 25 tv 

unbounded applause now echoing though the country in re- 
sponse to his first speech, helped to gird him for the second. 
The House was, if possible, still more crowded than on the 
18th and 19th of January. A queenly array of grace and 
beauty filled the galleries, while the lobbies, as before, were 
thronged by senators and distinguished visitors. 

Scarcely a written vestige of this speech is preserved. 
At its close, a vote was taken on the right of Messrs. Clai- 
borne and Gholson to their seats, and decided against them 
by a majority of seven. The course of things up to this 
point and until the final vote, is thus described in notes of 
an address, delivered by Mr. Prentiss at Natchez, shortly 
after his return to Mississippi : — 



The question was referred to a committee ; Messrs. Claiborne 
and Gholson on the one side, and Mr. "Word and myself on the 
other, each contending that his was the Simon Pure representa- 
tion. The committee were puzzled ; they thought we resembled 
the two Dromios so much that a decision was impossible. When 
the question came before the House, several able members main- 
tained a vigorous and eloquent defence of the July election, and 
called forth all their powers to show that the people of Missis- 
sippi were wrong in choosing members, according to their consti- 
tution and laws, in ISTovember ; whilst another class, composed of 
mauy judicious and eminent politicians, argued a contrary opinion. 
The first question was taken on the title of Messrs. Claiborne and 
Gholson ; and during the arduous discussion of that question, in 
which party ingenuity appeared to be exhausted, nothing else 
was expected to follow a decision against those gentlemen than 
that the title of my colleague and myself would instantly be 
admitted. It was certainly not dreamt of that they who, in 
their solicitude for Mississippi representation on the floor of 
tlie House, contended so violently for the validity of the 
July election, would afterwards turn round and contend, with 
equal violence, tliat Mississippi's legal representatives should bo 



^ 



258 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

sent back! It was amusing to view tlie contrast in tbeli- doc- 
trines. At first tliey Vv^ere as narrow as the bridge that led to 
the Mahometan Paradise— but anon expanded to a breadth 
greater than the Way to Death. Their principles were like the 
tent in tlie Arabian Nights' Entertainments, which nt times 
was so small tliat you could hold it in the palm of your hand • 
while, to suit convenience, it could be so enlarged as to cover a 
whole field and serve as an encampment for large armies. 

A vote was at length taken on the question of the July elec- 
tion, and 119 members declared their opinion that it was null, 
illegal and unconstitutional, whilst 112 solemnly declared that it 
was valid and constitutional. This was the rescinding vote. 

On tlie determination of this point, a general satisfaction was 
visible on the countenances of those in the House. All were in 
waiting, now that the difficulty seemed to be removed, to hear 
the JSfovember election sustained, and Mr. Word and myself 
sworn to our seats. To the astonishment of all, however, up 
starts a gentleman from Maryland, in a state of feverish excite- 
ment, and, to the great and unsurpassed amusement of the 
House, with a voice which sounded to the ear like the very 
essence of pathos — begged the House to ^jai/se f And for 
what ? Why, to find out that, as two men of the same political 
views as his had claimed seats as Representatives from Missis- 
sippi against the will of the People, but could not retain them— 
therefore that Sovereign State was entitled to no representa- 
tion at all, and her Constitutional Representatives must be 
sent home also. It was impossible to refrain from a smile 
at that gentleman's (Mr. Howard's) apparent feelings oa this 
occasion. He spoke as if some dire misfortune was --about to 
befall the Capitol. A discussion ensued, the result of which 
was, that the gentleman's pathetic appeal was supported, and 
your constitutional claims again postponed. 

Need I picture to you my burning indignation at this result? 
Prom that moment I continued with unabated zeal to press a 
decision ; day after day and night after night I watched with 
sleepless vigilance the proceedings of the House; and although I 
could discover manceuverings going on in certain quarters, which 



THE FI.VAL VOTE. 259 

boded no good to your cause, still I could not find a reason ^vhy 
your right of representation was trifled -with. At length, how- 
ever, one night which I shall lon^ remember, those members who 
were adverse to you, gave notice that they were prepared for a 
decision. Xow was unravelled the mystery of their delays, and 
there might be seen carried into the Representative Hall, men, 
whose sickness had prevented them from leaving their rooms, or 
attending to the business of the House for six v/eeks before ; 
others who appeared fitter for their coffins than their seats, and 
in such a ghasly state that one might well look around him to 
find where their graves had been dug. Ic was, indeed, hard to 
tell to which world they belonged. 

It may be well here to remark, that the question was not now 
whether A. or B. had a right to seats, but whether the State of 
Mississippi was entitled to representation. The difficulty inter- 
posed by the presence of Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson had been 
removed. There was left, then, not a shadow of a pretence for 
members to travel beyond the true question — Is Mississippi a 
member of this Confederacy or not ? 

The vote was taken — it was a tie — and a certain gentleman 
who occupied the Speaker's chair, issued his soft veto on 3'our 
claims. As deeply interested as I felt in the question just 
decided, as vital as it was to the rights and honor of the State 
for whose claims I had been battling — for a few moments I could 
not avoid philosophizing on what 

" Gi'eat effects fi-om little causes flow !'* 

We are told that in ancient times great events were attended 
by preternatural phenomena : earthquakes shook the world to 
its foundation, and the thunder's awful roar warned mortals that 
some momentous occurrence was approaching; and I could 
scarcely credit my senses when I heard the most sacred rights of 
this Union Avrenched from the State of Mississippi by the still 
small voice, like that of some delicate woman, of Mr. Speaker 
Polk. This voice of usurpation was in tones so weak that, 
inclining my ear towards where he sat, I could scarcely hear its 
attenuated sound. I confess I looked upon the matter as some- 



260 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

thing curious. For a while I pondered on the whole transaction, 
and was lost to a sense of its importance. 

Thus, then, was the sacred right of Representation, for which 
our fathers fought and bled, denied to one of the Sovereign States 
of this Union, and that in the face of two classes of votes, given 
in the same assembly, which contended that such right was hers. 
For as I have said, 112 members decided that she was entitled 
to be represented by her July delegation, while 117 other mem- 
bers afterwards supported her constitutional election in i^ovem- 
ber. Here we find 229 members solemnly decitling that you had 
a constitutional representation, leaving five or six of all parties 
denying that you had a constitutional representation ; and yet, 
by a curious combination, the Journal of the House shows a 
subsequent vote, which denies any representation !* 

The following reminiscence by Mr. Word, will recall to 
many readers the charge of grossly insulting the Speaker of 
the House, so industriously circulated at the time against 
Mr. Clay : — 



* For several hours the Hall was a perfect Bedlam. Between three and four o'clock 
a call of the House began, -which drew up recruits from all quarters. Of 240 mem- 
bers, 286 were in the city. Horses and carriages, officers and messengers were sent 
in every direction to bring in the missing. A member from Vermont appeared oSF a 
sick bed, looking like the ghost of Hamlet's father ; another, from Kentucky, pro- 
hibited by his physician from leaving his room, was led in by two of his brethren, 
looking as if he had deserted the tomb— pale, dejected, with no power to sup- 
port his own weight or lift his hand to his head ; another Western member, his face 
woe-begone, seemed to be in his grave-clothes. At length, after hideous cries of 
" question," " question,'''' " order^'' " order,'' Jilr. Howard's resolution came up : 
" liesolted. That S. S. Prentiss and Thomas J. Word are not entitled to seats in the 
twenty-fifth Congress." The question came up upon the adoption of the resolu- 
tion ; clouds rested upon the result; breathless silence reigned throughout the Hall: 
not a voice, scarce a whisper, was heard througli the immense crowd, filling every 
nook and corner. At length the result was announced — 117 to 117. There was a 
moment's pause, and the Speaker said, " Tlie Chair votes in the affirmative; the 
RESOLUTION IS ADOPTED !" Thus was the long agony of three weeks ended. Mr. 
Wise instantly rose and poured forth an indignant rebuke. Mr. Prentiss followed, 
and, in a speech of five minutes, denounced the decision of the House as an act of 
palpable and gross " legislative usurpation"— declaring it to be the first of its kind 
on the records of Congress. 

Correspondence from Washington., Feb. 6, 183S. 



MISSISSIPPI CONTESTED ELECTION. 261 

I well recollect an incident which occurred immediately after 
the final vote was taken, and which soon gained great notoriety 
in a very distorted form. Almost all the members of the House 
were present, and we were rejected, as you know, by the casting 
vote of the Speaker, Mr. Polk. The Speaker's chair was on the 
north side of the Representative Hall, and Mr. Clay, Mr. Pres- 
ton, and other Senators, were in the lobby on the south side. 
While the vote was going on, I had taken a seat near the chair, 
and, keeping tally, ascertained* that it was a tie. The clerk 
handed the vote to the Speaker, and was directed by him, in an 
under tone, to cast it up again. While this was being done, I 
walked across the House to Mr. PpwEXtiss, who was standing 
within the bar, conversing with Mr. Clay, who was jast outside 
the bar. The relative positions which they occupied, placed Mr. 
Peentiss directly between Mr. Clay and the Speaker. I showed 
Mr. P. the vote, and remarked that it was a tie. This called the 
attention of the group to the fact, and instantly all eyes were 
turned to the Speaker. You will recollect that this was in 1838, 
long before Mr. Clay had attached himself to the Church. You 
will also remember that the greatest familiarity, as well as the 
greatest friendship, existed between him and Mr. P. Keeping 
these things in mind, you will readily perceive how completely 
the incident was distorted, and how wholly misapplied was the 
language of Mr. Clay. When the clerk had run over the vote 
again, he handed it to the Speaker, w^ho stated it to be a tie, and 
then himself voted to vacate the seats. Upon this announce- 
ment, Mr. Clay, playfully pointing at Mr. Peextiss and address- 
ing him, said : " Kow go home, d— n you, where you ought to 
be!" All joined in a hearty laugh, and so the matter passed 
out of mind. But before we got home, the language of Mr. Clay 
was applied by some of the letter writers and newspapers as 
addressed to Mr. Polk^ and that in the most profane, exaggerated 
form. You know what scandalous use was afterwards made of 
the charge.* How Mr. Clay's remark could have been addressed 
or applied to the Speaker, no sensible man could comprehend. 



* See e. g., editorials of The Globe, the then official organ, for February 10, 12, 
and June 2, 1838 —En. 



262 JIEMOIR OF S. 



PRENTISS. 



I liave always supposed that the person who gave pubhcity to 
the incident, must have been misled by not observing the relative 
position of the parties ; Mr. Peextiss standing, as I have said, 
between Mr. Clay and the Chair, Mr. C. pointing at Mr. P. 
might seem to point to the Speaker. The publisher of this oc- 
currence may have been unaware, too, of the close intimacy and 
familiarity which existed between Mr. Peextiss and the illustri- 
ous Kentuckian. But be this as it may, the facts were as above 
stated, and I am happy to give them to you, that justice may be 
done to the memory of these two great and good men. 



A day or two after they were rejected, the House passed 
a Resolution, directing the clerk to pay Messrs. Word and 
Prentiss the usual mileage and per diem, while they were con- 
testing their seats, amounting in all to nearly $2,000 apiece. 
But they disdained to touch it. 

The result of the MississijDpi Contested Election only 
served to increase the public interest in Mr. Prentiss. His 
manly bearing throughout the struggle, and the fearless 
spirit, as well as the eloquence, Avith which he had defied the 
whole force of the administration, secured for him the re- 
spect and even admiration of his more generous opponents ; 
none expressed for him those sentiments more cordially than 
Mr. Legare ; while the pride and high hopes which his 
course excited in his own party, were only equalled by their 
disappointment at his defeat, and the fear that he would 
not come back. On the eve of his departure for Mis- 
sissippi, he received a very striking proof of the regard felt 
for him by the most distinguished members of his party, in 
the tender of a public dinner. A noticeable incident of this 
occasion, was a Union speech by Mr. Webster, made late in 
the night, which the guest, speaking of it several years after- 
wards, declared to have been the most wonderful outburst 
of eloquence that he ever heard. He described it as marked 



LETTER HOME. 2G3 

by all Mr. Webster's simple majesty, perspicuity and 
strength of thought, but with the addition of an impassioned 
fervor and inspiration of feeling, such as no one present had 
ever before witnessed in him. 

The following letter to his elder sister, will fitly close this 
chapter : 

Washington City, Feb. 14, 1S88. 
Deae Abby : — 

I informed you in my last, of the result of my 
business here, which I presume you have also learned from the 
papers. Though not quite as successful as I expected, yet on 
the whole, I believe I have, personally, no cause to complain. 
I am perfectly satisfied with what I have seen of political life, 
and without having my opinion of myself in any degree raised, 
I can truly say that ray estimation of others is sadly diminished. 
I had no idea of the want of principle as well as the want of 
sense which characterizes a large portion of the political men 
of the nation. For my own part, I am heartily sick of the 
whole matter, and shall feel greatly obliged to the people of 
Mississippi, if they will allow me to retire. I think, however, 
that they will send me back here, and if they wish to do so, I 
feel bound to submit to their wishes. I had the honor of a very 
high and gratfying compliment on Saturday last. It was a 
public dinner given to myself and my colleague, by the Whig 
members of both Houses of Congress. There were about 
seventy or eighty present, among whom, were Messrs. Clay, 
Webster, Crittenden, Southard, Judge White, Evans, Bell, Wise, 
&c., &c. Indeed, it is said to have been the most talented 
selection of gentlemen that had ever assembled here at the con- 
vivial table. Many speeches were made, and the whole aflfair 
passed off very finely. I need not tell you that I was much 
gratified by the attention and personal regard of such men ; 
though, generally speaking, I am not ambitious about such mat- 
ters, and, indeed, most of the gratification I experienced, arose 
from the reflection that it would afford, perhaps, some pleasure 
to my mother and sisters. I have just got a portion of my first 



264 Mi:::\[oiR of s. 6, prentiss. 

speech printed, and will send you some copies to-morrow. You 
will find it rather a dry thing, as I was compelled, in writ- 
ing it out, to omit most of it, except the argument on the 
constitutional point; Had I written all I spoke, it would have 
made a volume; for I spoke altogether, from ten to twelve 
hours, and that pretty fast. But I need not make apologies to 
such partial critics as you will all be. Tell George not to make 
as much fun of my prose as he does of my poetry, or I will get 
hold of some of his productions and retaliate. You must write 
me immediately at Vicksburg. Tell' Anna she must mind and 
get well by the time I come home in the summer. My love 
to vou all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

S. S. Prentiss. 



■-*# 



SPEECH. 265 



CHAPTER XI. 

Speech on the Mississippi Contested Election. 

We give in this clrapter the larger portion of Mr. Pren- 
tiss' first speech on claiming his seat. Aside from the im- 
portance of tlie principles discussed, it is entitled to a place 
here as one of the very few remains of his argumentative 
power. 'Tlio reader will, probably, admit that it does no 
discredit to this feature of his eloquence. 

Mi:. Speaker : — As an indi vidua], I thank the House fortlie 
courtesy which has been extended to me. On behalf of tiio 
State of Mississippi, I acknowledge the somewhat tardy justice 
which has at length permitted her to be heard upon the ques- 
tion of her right to choose her own representation on this floo". 

The first use I shall make of the privilege accorded to me -/ill 
be to set the House right as to the attitude of the question, for 
I perceive that many niembers labor under a misapprehension on 
this point, and I am anxious that the position I occupy in the 
matter should be distinctly understood. I have petitioned this 
Hous'e for nothing ; neither have I memorialized it. I have pre- 
sented myself here as a Representative from the sovereign Stute 
of Mississippi to the Congress of the United States, and claim a 
seat on this floor, not as a matter o£ favor, but as a matter of right. 
I produced my credentials, properly autlienticated, showing my 
due election, according to the laws of that State, and demanded 
to be sworn. No one objected to the legality of the election ; 
no one questioned my qnahfication or the correctness of the 
returns ; neither was there any doubt as to the authenticity of 
the credentials. The State of Mississippi, it was admitted on all 

12 



266 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

hands, had, through her highest organs, and in accordance with 
the provisions of her Constitution and laws, solemnly accredited 
me as her Representative. It was objected, however, that the 
seats belonging to that State Avere already filled, as appeared 
by a resolution of the House, adopted at its last session, which 
resolution the State had no right to gainsay. 

You, sir, refused to administer the oath, and referred the mat- 
ter to the House. The House referred it to the Committee on 
Elections, with instructions to report the facts of the case, which 
report, with the resolutions based thereupon, is now the subject 
of discussion. 

Had I been permitted, I should have objected to this reference. 
I thought then, and still think, that a committee had no busi- 
ness with the matter. It was not a case of contested election. 
Xo one denied the due election and return of my colleague and 
myself. Our credentials were perfect and unimpeached, and the 
only question which arose was upon the right of the State of 
Mississippi to hold any election in November for Eepresentatives 
to Congress. The State had claimed the right, had exercised it, 
and through me, had asserted it to this House. No one gam. 
sayed the election, qualification, or return. It was the right of 
election itself which was controverted, and not the right of those 
claiming^under it. The State of Mississippi asserted her right in 
November last to elect Eepresentatives to the 25th Congress, in 
obedience to her laws, which she believes to be constitutional, 
and binding upon this House. The House denied the right, and 
set up its own action against it. Now, as far as the House had 
jurisdiction to decide upon this collision between itself and the 
State, I thought it could and should have proceeded at once, 
without the intervention of a committee. 

I listened with feelings of deep regret and alarm, to sentiments 
expressed by honorable gentlemen, whose only advantage over 
myself has arisen from an earlier action on the part of the States 
which they represent, and an assertion of their claims at an 
earlier period than was practicable on my part. Sir, is there a 
gentleman on this floor who holds his seat by virtue of a law 
more definite, under credentials more perfect, with an expres- 



SPEECH. 267 

sion more extensive or more decisive of the popular will, than 
what were exhibited and admitted in the present instance? And 
yet it was said that the high and solemn authentication, by a 
State, of her Representative here, stands upon the same footing, 
and is entitled to no greater consideration than an humble me- 
morial, or a beggarly petition. Yes, sir, one of the twenty-six 
States of this Confederacy, constitutionally entitled to furnish 
and compose a portion of this very body itself, stands, when as- 
serting such right, in no better attitude than a private individual 
praying for a place, or petitioning for a pension. I protest 
against such doctrines ; tliey are equally degrading to the char- 
acter of the States and of this House, composed, as it is, of the 
Representatives of those very States whose rights are treated 
"with such contempt. I deny that the action of a great indepen- 
dent political community is entitled to no other attention, or is 
subject to the same technical rules of procedure as tlje action of 
a private individual. 

Some benefit, however, I will acknowledge, has resulted from 
the reference ; the facts are now all before the House in their 
most authentic form, and, though portions of them have but little 
bearing upon the main question in controversy, to wit, the riglit 
of election^ yet I doubt not they will produce a salutary effect 
in diminishing tlie prejudice which has arisen from SiH. ex parte 
and mistaken view of the case. 

In performing the high errand upon which I have been sent, 
I am conscious of the serious disadvantages under under which 
I labor. In the first place, I am a stranger here ; and the claim 
which I advance is opposed by two gentlemen who doubtles% 
possess and deserve the sympathies of this House. Tliese gentle- 
men, too, are in full enjoyment of the subject-matter of dispute, 
and upon their side is enlisted that natural prejudice which all 
mankind feel in favor of possession. 

One of them (Mr. Claiborne) has, in advance of this discussion, 
submitted to the House an address, iu which, with great skill, 
he appeals to the personal friendships and social relations which 
he has so long had the opportunity of forming. Indeed, they 
have all the advantage of position. I come to them an unwel- 



268 MEMOIR OF S. S. TREXTISS. 

come messeuger from their master, that great Sultan, the People, 
bearing as a present the political bow-string ; and it is not to be 
expected that the rebellious Pachas will consent to be cholced off 
without a struggle. Indeed, they boast that they have, long 
since, entered into a treaty with this House, by which the 
House is bound to protect them in their treasonable practices, 
and to interpose its broad shield between them and their justly 
exasperated sovereign. 

I regret the position which I am compelled to occupy in rela- 
tion to these gentlemen, with both of whom my intercourse has 
always been marked by the most kindly feelings. I have, how- 
ever, a high duty to perform, I act for others, and not for my- 
self; and I should be unworthy the confidence which has been 
reposed in me did I allow any personal considerations to in- 
fluence my action or bias my judgment. 

A portion of the public press has interfered in this matter in 
the most licentious manner. Even since it has been undergoing 
an acknowledged judicial investigation by this House, the ques- 
tion has been decided out of doors with an air of ex cathedra 
authority, which is manifestly intended to have an effect here. 
The oflScial organ itself has spoken, and with an ignorance of the 
law only to be equalled by its perversion of the facts. I have 
alluded to this matter merely to inquire whether the god or the 
priest alone, is responsible for the lying oracle ; to deprecate 
Executive miQviQvoncQ. in this controversy'; and to express my 
hope that the sword of Brennus is not to be cast into the scale, 
compelling, by its massive weight, right and justice to kick the 
J^eam. 

Eumor, through some of her hundred mouths, has bruited it 
abroad that this case would be decided not upon its merits, but 
upon party grounds. In accordance with her ancient custom, 
she surely lied ; for, when I cast my eyes around, and behold 
collected hero the selected wisdom and worth of this mighty 
nation, I cannot restrain my indignation at the foul and ground- 
less slander. What ! the right of representation of a wliole 
State to be decided upon party grounds ! the elective franchise 
to be sacrificed at the shrine of party ! I do not believe it, sir, 



srEECH. 269 

I do not believe it. A degree of corruption wLich -would war- 
rant such a supposition, exceeds my comprehension. I have a 
better opinion of my kind ; and, if I had not, sir, I wonld trust 
to fear even after I had lost confidence in honesty. ISTo party in 
this country dares tamper with the elective franchise of a whole 
State. No party dares remove a corner-stone at the risk of bring- 
ing the whole edifice tumbling about their ears. No party dares 
place the match to a magazine, whose explosion, they must know, 
will blow them to atoms. The People guard with more than 
Argus-vigilance the right of representation, for it has not been 
long since their fathers fought for it ; and woe betide the party 
which shall attempt to steal from them the Hesperian fruit. 

Did I think that rumor spoke truth ; that faction would usurp 
the seat of judgment, and partisan prejudice, instead of the Con- 
stitution and the laws, furnish the rule of decision, then, indeed, 
I should deem it worse than useless to trespass upon your 
patience. With slow and melancholy steps I should return to 
those who sent me here, and tell them that the days of the 
Kepublic were numbered ; that the spirit of liberty had departed, 
and in its stead a demon had entered and taken possession of the 
body, directing its movements and controlling its functions. 

I would that I wielded the spear of Ithuriel, that with it I 
might touch the foul fiend of party, should he dare " squat like 
a toad" to whisper false suggestions in the ear of this House ; 
then would he start up in all his horrid deformity, with a visage 
more hideous than that of the dark Mokanna, the Veiled Prophet 
of Khorassan.* But, as I have said, I cannot believe there is 

* Dreadful it was to see the ghostly stare, 
The stony look of horror and despair, 
Which some of these expiring victims cast 
Upon that mocking Fiend, whose veil, now raised, 
Showed them, as in death's agony they gazed. 
Not the long-promised light, the brow, whose beaming 
Was to come forth, all conquering, all redeeming. 
But features horribler than Hell e'er traced 
On its own brood ; no Demon of the Waste, 
No church-yard Ghole, caught lingering in the light 
Of the blest sun, e'er blasted human sight 
With lineaments so foul, so fierce as those 
The Impostor now, in grinning mockery, shows. 

Lalla EooJcJu 



2*70 MKiioiR or s. s. prentiss. 

anything to fear on this score. The hounds of party may howl 
around the.-^e walls, but surely they will not dare to enter w^ithin 
their sacred precincts. 

In approaching the subject of this coutrovery, I confess, Mr. 
Speaker, I am filled with alarm at the magnitude of the task I 
have undertaken. In ordinary questions of law, decision travels 
with confidence and ease upon the highway of precedent, but 
penetrates, with slow and doubtful steps, among the less beaten 
paths of constitutional construction. In searching into the prin- 
ciples of organic law, in examining and measuring the exact 
extent and relative position of the pediments and arches w^hich 
sustain the pillars and walls of the political fabric, skill and 
experience should be the companions of reason. I am aware 
how greatly I lack both. I know that I have around me 
materials more than sutficient for the construction of an impreg- 
nable argument ; but that very abundance, from wiiich the eye 
of a more experienced artificer would select at once the portions 
most appropriate for the work, distracts my attention and con- 
fuses my choice. 

Sir, this controversy is of an importance unsurpassed by any 
that can arise out of our pohtical system. It involves not merely 
the question, whether A. or B. is entitled to a seat on this floor 
as the Eepresentative of the People of tlie State of Mississippi ; 
but the question, also, whether the right to choose such Eepre- 
sentative resides with the People of that State, or in this House; 
, Avhether the laws of tliat State, enacted in accordance with an 
express mandate of the Constitution of the United States, are 
mere nullities; whether the executive authority of a State has 
the power, at his discretion, to abrogate and nullify an admitted 
constitutional law. It involves more than this ; it involves the 
question whether this House can, under cover of its powder of 
judging of the elections, qualifications and leturns of its mem- 
bers, nullify a constitutional law of a State, or of Congress, fix- 
ing the time for the election of Representatives to Congress. 
This is not all ; it involves the riaht of the delegations of one- 
half of the States to the very seats v;hich they now occupy. In 
fact, it involves the constitutional character of every House of 
Representatives that ever assembled in this liall. Such are some 



SPEECH. 2tl 

of the considerations wliicli will arise in this discussion, and I 
doubt not, their magnitude and importance ■will command atten- 
tion, and insure the most mature deliberation. 

I lay down the following propositions, which I shall endeavor 
to demonstrate in the course of my argument : 

1st. That Messrs. Claiboexe and Gholson never were con- 
stitutionally or legally elected Representatives from the State of 
Mississippi to the 25th Congress ; and that the election in July 
last, under which they claim, was absolutely and wholly void — 
a mere nullity. 

2d. That, if said election was good for anything, it was good 
only for the period of time anterior to that fixed by the law of 
the State for the general election, to wit, the first Monday and 
day following in JSTovember; inasmuch as said July election was 
ordered to fill that period only, and was holden by the electors 
for the purpose and with the intentionof fihing that period only ; 
and that, in point of fact, no election was ordered or holden in 
Mississippi in July last for Representatires to the 25th Congress. 

3d. That, in November last, my colleague and myself were 
constitutionally and legally elected Representatives from the 
State of Mississippi to the 25th Congress. 

But I am met upon the threshold by the gentlemen, and told 
that I shall not be permitted to demonstrate a single one of these 
propositions ; that, at the special session, a resolution involving 
them all was adopted by this House ; that the whole matter be- 
came thereby r^s adjudicata; and that the decision, so made, 
was final and conclusive, incapable of revision, and binding upon 
all the world. They tell me that, even admitting the three pro- 
positions laid down by me to be true, still they are entitled to 
their seats, by virtue of the judgment of this House; and that, 
by said judgment, the State of Mississippi is estopped from prov- 
ing that they are not her Representatives. Such is the position 
which the gentlemen have assumed before the committee, and 
such is the ground which they occupy before the House. Dipped, 
Achilles-like, in this judicial Styx, they deem themselves invul- 
nerable ; but I trust I shall be able to find some soft place in 
heel or head, to which the arrow of truth may cleave its way. 



212 MEMOIK OF S. S. PREXTISS. 

Have the gentlemen considered well tlie attitude in which they 
place themselves by tliis course ? Was not their better angel 
nodding at his post when they resolved upon it? Was there 
nothing in the manner and circumstances under which that de- 
cision was obtained, which should make them feel a particular 
delicacy in using it for the purpose of smothering the present in- 
vestigation ? "Whither has fled that lofty magnanimity which, 
at the last session, induced the gentlemen to institute proceed- 
ings against themselves, for the purpose of ascertaining the 
rights of their constituents ; that delicate sensibility which could 
not brook a shadow of doubt as to the legitimacy of their repre- 
sentative character ; that fostering protection of the elective 
franchise ; that deep veneration for the voice of the People ; 
that ready obedience to their will ? 

Do the gentleman really wish to represent the People of Mis- 
sissippi, whether they will or not? Do they actually intend to 
set up a majority of seventeen votes here against a majority of 
seven thousand at home ? Did they obtain this decision for the 
purpose of extending the powers delegated to them by the 
People ? Whom do they consider their constituents, the People 
of Mississippi or the members of this House, that they should 
base their rights here upon the action and will of the latter, in- 
stead of the former ? Does not their valor outrun their discre- 
tion in this matter ? A bold man was he, that ancient one, who 
stole the fire from Heaven and hid it in a hollow reed ; but not 
less bold is he who would steal the elective franchise from the 
people of a whole State, and hide it in a hollow decision of this 
House. Let them remember the fate of Prometheus, " the vul- 
ture and the rock." Come, I cast down my glove, and challenge 
them to do battle upon the merits of this cause. What ! are 
they afraid to break a lance or shiver a spear in fair lists upon 
the open plain, that thus silent and sullen they retire behind the 
w^all, and hide in an intrenchment, constructed, one would judge, 
for the very purpose of protecting themselves against their con- 
stituents ? Perhaps they are content with the laurels won on a 
former occasion, when, as I am told, in right knightly style they 
held a passage at arms, and challenged all comers. They pranced, 



SPEECH. 2*13 

it is said, in gallant guise around tlie lists, and their trumpet of 
defiance rung forth loud and clear. But well they knew the while, 
that two thousand long miles, with many a lofty mountain and 
many a broad and rushing river intervened between themselves 
and those whom they thus summoned to the contest. That sum- 
mons is at length answered by the People of Mississippi, on whose 
behalf, and as an humble champion of whose rights, I now 
appear. Fast and far I have ridden to meet the gentleman's high 
defiance. Ivanhoe has returned from the Holy Land, and the 
Disinherited Knight dares tlie proud Templar to the combat. 

Again, and for the last time, in the name of Mississippi, the 
lady-love whose gage w^e both profess to wear, I call upon the 
gentlemen to come forth from their castle of '"''res adjudicata^'''' 
as they call it, and meet this controversy upon fair and open 
ground. 

They decline the invitation. Well, if tliey will not come to 
me, I will go to them. ] will attack tliis fortress in which they 
have taken refuge. It strikes me that it can be either stormed 
or starved into a surrender; for I do not believe that its defen- 
ces are tenable, or its garrison victualled for a very long siege. 
Let the gentlemen remember, too, that they have rendered 
themselves fully hable to the operation of that rule of war which 
denies quarter to those who attempt to defend an untenable 
position. 

Let us now examine into the character of this res adjudicata^ 
which, like the seal of Solomon, has closed up the whole 
matter. 

At the special session of Congress in September last, Messrs. 
Claiborne and Gholson appeared and took their seats on the 
first day thereof, as Eepresentatives from the State of Mississippi. 
They participated in the organization of the House, and in all 
business transacted by it, until the fourteenth day of the session, 
when Mr. Gholson introduced the following resolution, which 
was adopted by the House : " Resolved^ That the Committee of 
Elections be instructed to report upon the certificate of election 
of Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson^ the members elect from Mis- 
sissippi, whether they are members of the 25th Congress or not; 

12* 



2*74 MEMOIR Olf g.'^S. PKEXTISS. ' 

and that said committee take into their consideration the procla- 
mation of his excellency Charles Lynch, Governor of said State, 
and the writ of election issued in accordance with said procla- 
mation on the ISth day of June, 1837, and also the act of the 
legislature of the State of Mississippi entitled 'An act to regulate 
elections, apprcwed March 2, 1833.' " Upon this reference the 
Committee of Elections made a report, concluding with the fol- 
lowing resolution : ''- Eeaoked, That Samuel J. Gliolson and John 
F. H. Claiborne are duly elected members of the 25th Congress, 
and, as such, are entitled to their seats." This resolution was 
adopted by the House, and its adoption constitutes the res adju- 
dicata which the gentlemen set up as final and conclusive of the 
whole matter, both upon the House and upon the State. 

Now, witli regard to this action of the House, I take the 
following points : 

1st. Til at it was not a judicial act of this House at all, nor was 
it adopted by this House acting as a judicature. 

2d. It was not a decision or adjudication upon the election, 
qualification, or return of myself and colleague, our election and 
return having taken place long since said pretended adjudicjjtion. 

8d. That so far as said pretended adjudication goes to alter or 
annul the law of Mississippi, fixing the time for the election of 
her representatives to the 25th Congress, it is void; this House 
having no power, eitlier legislative or judicial, to alter or annul 
a constitutional law of a State fixing the time for the general 
election of her representatives to Congress. 

4th. Said pretended adjudication is not conclusive upon the 
State of Mississippi, because, she was neither a party to the 
proceeding upon which it was based, nor had any notice thereof, 
either actual or constructive. 

5th. Said pretended adjudication was founded upon palpable 
mistake, and the House is bound to review it. 

1st. The adoption of said resolution was not a judical act of 
this House. 

Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson were in possession of their 
seats, participating in all the business of the House: no one 
contested their election, and the resolution introduced by them- 



SPEECH. 275 

selves originated entirely out of their delicate sensibilities on the 
subject, and was nothing more than an application to the House 
for its advice and opinion upon the validity of their return. 
Such was the understanding and view of the committee, as 
appears from the following extract from their report: "ivTo 
objection," says the committee, "is made from any quarter to 
the right of the gentlemen elect to their seats, only by and 
through themselves ; on account of the peculiar circumstances 
under which the election was held, their own delicacy and sense 
of propriety have prompted them to invite a scrutiny into their 
right to seats in this House." 

This shows that the whole proceeding originated in the tender 
consciences of the gentlemen, and that the House was applied to 
as a sort of Lord Chancellor, to quiet their scruples ; the resolu- 
tion of reference did not contemplate or authorize an investigation 
either into the election or qualification of the sitting members ; 
the reference is special, "instructing the committee to report 
upon the certificate of election of Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson, 
the members elect from Mississippi, whether they are members 
of the 2oth Congress or not," &c. This confined the committee 
to the return alone, and the resolution reported by them, and 
adopted by the House, must be construed in connexion with the 
resolution of reference, and really amounts to no more than a 
resolution, that upon their certificate of election, or return, 
it appeared that Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson were duly 
elected, &;c. 

The jurisdiction of the committee was limited to this question, 
and their action cannot be legitimately construed as extending 
beyond it. Their whole power over the subject was derived 
from and limited by the resolution of reference. So far as they 
intended to embrace in their report any other matter than the 
return, they exceed their authority, and travelled beyond the 
record, 

Will any one contend, for instance, that the committee would 
have been authorized, under the special reference above set forth, 
to have investigated the question of qualification ? It seems to 
me perfectly clear that the resolution of reference did not con- 



2T6 3[EM0IR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

template or authorize an examination or decision of the absolute 
right of Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson to seats in the twenty- 
fifth Congress, but only of their credentials or certificate of elec- 
tion, to ascertain whether they had been returned, and could 
exhibit, by their certificate of election, a prima facie showing of 
right. It was the question oi prima facie and not cibsolute right 
which the committee were directed to investigate. 

The gentlemen say to the House, " Upon our certificate of elec- 
tion, are we entitled to take our seats as members of the twenty- 
fifth Congress ? We have dotibts upon the subject, and our high 
sense of delicacy has impelled us to ask the opinion of the House." 
The House, through its committee, examines the certificate of 
election, and answers the gentlemen by a resolution that they 
are duly elected, and entitled to seats. Kow, the extent of this 
response must be measured by the extent of the inquiry ; and, so 
measured, amounts to no more than this: " Upon your certificate 
of election you are entitled to seats ; in other words, you have 
made a ^;rzm<:6 facie showing, suflicient to autliorize you to take 
seats as members of this body." 

The whole of this amounted to no more than what had 
been already tacitly decided by the House in the case of 
every one of its members; for tlie very admission of a person 
to be sworn as a member, is as much a decision and adjudi- 
cation of his right of membership as a positive resolution of the 
House affirming the right. Yet it is every day's occurrence 
for the sitting member to be ousted of his seat when contested, 
after the House has decided, by admitting him to be sworn, that 
he was entitled to it. In the present instance the House had, 
by permitting Messrs. Gholson and Claiborne to participate in 
its organization, and take part in its proceedings, as fully decided 
upon their right to seats as by the resolution subsequently 
adopted. Neither the tacit nor the open decision, however, can 
be considered in the nature of a judicial act. To constitute this 
there must be parties and a contest — of which there was neither 
in the present case. The conclusion to which I am brought by 
these considerations is, that the resolution adopted by the House 
npon the report of the committee, when taken and con- 



SPEECH. 2tt 

strued, as it must be, in connexion ^vitb the resolution of 
reference, is merely an expression of the opinion of the House 
that these gentlemen had been duly returned, and npon their 
certificate of election^ in other words, prima facie^ were entitled 
to seats in the twenty-fifth Congress. If this construction 
be correct, then the adoption of tljat resolution interposes no 
obstacle in the way of the present investigation. 

2d. At all events, the action of the House at the last session 
cannot be considered an adjudication upon the election, qualifica- 
tions, or return of myself and colleague ; for the election Iiad not 
taken place, and the subject-matter did not exist for adjudication. 
If the House adjudged upon any thing, it was only upon the 
matter before it, and not prospectively upon future elections. 
The resolution adopted by this House does not profess to decide 
upon the November election ; neither does it in anywise refer 
to it, nor was it competent to do so. Any prospective decision 
in relation to that election would have been clearly coram non 
jicdice. It is sufficient, however, to say there is no such decision. 

The resolution adopted at the last session may appear incom- 
patible with the claim which I advance; but this is no more 
than happens every day in courts of justice, to whose acts gentle- 
men seem so anxious to assimilate this proceeding. A court, to- 
day, solemnly adjudges a piece of property to belong to A. ; to- 
morrow, a better title is exhibited by B. ; and the same court 
adjudges the same property to B., apparently in direct contradic- 
tion of its previous decision ; nor would the court permit such 
previous decision to be interposed as a bar to the claim of B. I 
take it to be clear that, even according to the strictest technical 
rules which govern judicial proceedings, a decision by this House 
that the July election was valid, is not an adjudication that the 
November election would be invalid. If this position is correct, 
then the questioo of the validity of the election of myself and 
colleague in November is res integra., and cannot be in any sort 
affected by any previous decision of this House upon any other 
election. 

I come now to the third position, which I have laid down in 
reference to this point. It is, "that so far as said pretended 



2T8 MEMOIll OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

adjudication goes to alter or annul the la^v of Mississippi, fixing 
the time for the election of her representatives to the twenty- 
fifth Congress, it is void ; this House having no power, either 
legislative or judicial, to alter or annul a constitutional law 
of a State fixing the time for the general election of representa- 
tives to Congress.'" The question arising out of this position 
is one of vast importance, involving considerations of the 
highest magnitude. There cannot arise out of our political 
system a question of deeper interest than that which involves 
the extent of the powers of this House over the subject of 
representation. E'o case has ever before happened, in which a 
direct collision has occurred between this House and one of the 
States, in relation to their respective constitutional powers over 
this matter. Such, however, is the unpleasant attitude which 
the State of Mississippi and this House now occupy in regard to 
each other. I approach the investigation of this question with 
great diffidence. I find myself walking upon untrodden ground; 
no light of precedent guides my footsteps; and it is with an 
inexperienced eye that I shall attempt to ascertain, from the 
great principles of the Constitution itself, the true rule of con- 
struction. 

The power of this House over the subject of representation is 
derived from the following clause of the 5th section, 1st article 
of the Constitution : "Each house shall be the judge of the 
elections, returns and qualifications of its own members." Now 
what is the extent of the jurisdiction conferred by this clause? 
Does it give to the House a full and complete jurisdiction over 
the whole subject-matter of representation ? Or does it confer 
only a limited and special jurisdiction over particular portions 
of the subject? I humbly conceive that the latter question alone 
can be answered in the affirmative. 

The designation and specification of particular portions of the 
subject-matter necessarily precludes the idea of a general juris- 
diction over the whole ; more especially when other portions 
are expressly placed under the jurisdiction of other departments 
of Government. 

Kow, the subject-matter of representation is parcelled out by 



SPEECH. 2t9 

the Constitution among clivers departments of the State and 
Federal Governments, and I conceive the proposition too plain 
to admit of contradiction, that each of these departments or 
depositaries is bound to exercise the portion of power assigned 
to it, without infringing upon or interfering with the constitu- 
tional powers of the other agents or depositaries, and that any 
such infringement or interference would be a palpable violation 
of the Constitution. -The Constitution directs that representa- 
tion shall be apportioned among tlie States in proportion to num- 
bers, &c., and directs that an enumeration shall be made at stated 
periods as the bnsis of such apportionment. Now, after an ap- 
portionment has been constitutionally made by law, will any one 
contend that this House, under the power of judging of the elec- 
tions, returns and qualifications of its members, could change or 
alter such apportionment? For instance, the State of Virginia 
is entitled, by the present apportionment, to twenty-one mem- 
bers: suppose, upon the presentation of her delegation, the 
House had decided that she was entitled to ten only, and had 
adopted a resolution to that effect ; would such a resolution have 
been binding either upon the House or upon the State ? Clearly 
not. It would liave been a palpable usurpation on the part of 
the House, and, if persisted in, would have constituted a virtual 
dissolution of the government. Here is one portion of the sub- 
ject-matter of representation, not falling within the scope of the 
judicial power of the House. 

Again, the Constitution provides, in the 2d section of the 1st 
article, that "the House of Representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year by the people of the several 
States." Can this House, by virtue of its judicial power over 
the elections of its members, make a valid and binding deci- 
sion, extending their term of service beyond two years? Clearly 
not ; otherwise Congress might declare itself perpetual, and we 
should soon have a rump parliament. IsTo one will contend, for 
one instant, that such a power resides in the House. But, why 
not? Because, the Constitution has itself decided that matter; 
and thereby placed it beyond the jurisdiction of the House. 
Here, then, is another portion of the subject-matter of represen- 



280 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

tation, and a portion, also, of the subject of election, to wit, the 
term of service, upon which a resolution or adjudication of this 
House would be entirely powerless and nugatory. 

Again, the Constitution, after defining the basis of representa- 
tion, and prescribing the term of service, as before mentioned, 
provides that " the times, places and manner of holding elections 
for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each 
State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any 
time ty law make or alter such regulations, except as to the 
places of choosing Senators." The State Legislatures have then 
the power of fixing the time of holding elections for Eepresenta- 
tives, subject to no consUtutional limitation except that con- 
tained in the 2nd section of the 1st article, which directs that 
the time shall be in every second year. Now I take it, that a 
legislative act, authorized and commanded by the Constitution, 
has all tlie sanction and validity of the constitutional provision 
itself, from whence it is derived ; and that the constitutional 
action of the Legislature of a State, fixing the time of holding 
elections for Eepresentatives, can no more be annulled or disre- 
garded by this House, whether acting in a judicial or legislative 
capacity, than the same provision or designation incorporated in 
the Constitution itself. ISTow, will any one contend for one 
instant, that if the Constitution had itself provided that the 
election of Eepresentatives from the State of Mississippi to the 
25th Congress should take place on the first Monday and day 
following of November, this House could have annulled such 
constitutional provision in advance, so as to have rendered the 
election held under its authoritv void ? Would not rather such 
adjudication of the House have been void, so far as it violated 
the constitutional regulation? Upon what principle is an adju- 
dication of this House in violation of the constitutional provision 
in relation to the times of holding elections, more binding than 
an. adjudication extending the term of service, in violation of 
the clause of the Constitution limiting it to two years? Yet, in 
the latter case every one will admit that the action of the House 
would be void ; why not in the former ? It seems to me clear 
that no decision of this House alone can affect or change the term 



SPEECH. 281 

of service, the apportionment of representation, or the times 
places, and manner of holding elections, as constitutionally fixed 
by the State Legislature?, or by law of Congress. It is where 
these provisions leave off tliat tlie jurisdiction of this House 
commences, with power to judge, First, of the election itself; 
that is, whether the election has been holden at the time, place, 
and in the manner prescribed by the State Legislature, or law of 
Congress, as the case may be; such regulation of the State 
Legislature, or law of Congress, constituting the rule by which 
the House is bound to judge. Secondly, of the qualifications. 
The qualifications of a Representative are designated in the Con- 
stitution itself, and the jurisdiction of the House over this 
subject empowers it to decide whether the persons elected 
possess the quahfications required by the Constitution, but gives 
no authority to add to or diminish the constitutional requisitions. 
Thirdly, of the returns. Here the House has a broad jurisdiction, 
to judge of the actual result of an election, and of all the various 
modes by which that result is ascertained. 

In regard to the extent of the judicial power of the House, we 
may read an instructive lesson from the history of the British 
Parliament. The House of Commons had claimed from time 
immemorial, as one of its privileges, and a right inherent in its 
very constitution, the judicial power of deciding upon the elec- 
tion, qualifications, and returns of its members. In the exercise 
of this acknowledged jurisdiction, it undertook, in the case of the 
Middlesex election, to decide that the expulsion of a member 
constituted disqualification, in derogation of the law under which 
expulsion did not constitute disqualification. In pursuance of 
this decision, John AYilkes, who had been previously expelled, 
was adjudged incompetent to sit for the county of Middlesex, 
though elected by an overwhelming majority ; and Mr. Luttrell, 
■who had received a small vote, was declared duly elected. 
Upon this arose one of the most violent civil contests on record; 
the People, justly alarmed at the arbitrary decision of the House 
of Commons, declared it to be a palpable violation of the Con- 
stitution, and a dangerous infringement of the popular rights ; 
they denied the power of the House to decide in cases of election, 



282 MEiroir. of s. s. prextiss. 

contrary to law, and denounced tlie claim of the House to an 
exclusive judicial power, final and conclusive over the whole 
subject of election, as fatal to the liberties of the country," The 
whole nation became aroused, and for fourteen years the 
indomitable spirit of British freemen waged continual war on 
this subject, against a determined administration and an obsti- 
nate House of Commoes. Popular right at length prevailed 
over legislative usurpation, and was only satisfied by the utter 
expunction from the journals of the obnoxious decision of the 
House. 

This very power of altering or setting aside the State regula- 
tions is, by the Constitution, reserved to Congress alone, to 
exercise by law. If the decision of this House is of suflicient 
force to overturn the legislative action of the State, then this 
House possesses, judicially, the same power of repealing and 
annulling the action of the State legislatures, which w^as mani- 
festly intended to be entrusted only to the joint action of Con- 
gress and the Executive, and entrusted, too, with a degree of 
jealousy and misgiving on the part of the States, as I shall 
hereafter show, unequalled in the delegation of any other power. 

I shall not, at this moment, go into the argument upon the 
constitutionality of the law of the State of Mississippi, fixing 
the time for the general election of her representatives to Con- 
gress. This belongs to future consideration. At present, I claim 
the conclusion that, if such law is constitutional, this House had 
no constitutional power, either legislative or judicial, to annul 
it; and that the adjudication of this House under discussion, so 
far as it does infringe upon such constitutional State action, is 
void. 

I come now to the fourth position, that said pretended adju- 
dication is not conclusive upon the State of Mississippi, inasmuch 
as she was not a party to the proceeding upon which it was 
based, and had no notice tliereof, either actual or constructive." 

The general principle of law is, that the judgment of a court 
of competent jurisdiction is binding iipo?i the parties only. After 
the parties to a controversy have been heard, or have had an 
opportunity of being heard, it is both just and proper that litiga- 



SPEECH. 283 

tion should cease, and the decision be final. The public good 
requires it. Interest reipublicce ut sit finis Utium. The general 
rule is based upon abstract justice and public policy, both of 
which would be violated by its application to tlie present case. 
The State of Mississippi was not a party to the proceeding at the 
special session. 

It is contended, I know, that she was substantially a party, 
and that she was present and heard in the matter, through her 
agents and attorneys, Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson ; but this is 
a clear begging of the question. Mississippi denies that these 
gentlemen were her agents for the purpose of claiming seats in 
the twenty-fifth Congress. They produced no power of attorney 
from her, authorizing them to act for her in this behalf. The 
power of attorney which they received from the State author- 
ized tbera to act as her agents in claiming seats at the special 
session only. This power of attorney was suppressed, and evi- 
dence given which deceived at least a portion of the House into 
the behef that the People of Mississippi had chosen these gentle- 
men as their agents for two years. All that Mississippi asks now 
is the right of showing that Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson never 
were her agents to the twenty-fifth Congress. If she can show 
this, surely no one will pretend that she is bound by the acts of 
pseudo-agents. This question of agency, which gentlemen so 
cavalierly take for granted, is the very gist of the controversy — 
the very matter of dispute. But the petitio principU is an 
exceedingly convenient mode of argument in a bad cause ; and 
it is an excellent and ingenious practice to assume what you can- 
not prove. 

The only parties before the House at the last session were 
Me?srs. Claiborne and Gholson. Now if, in the action taken by 
them in obtaining the decision of the House, they were not the 
agents of Mississippi, but had transcended the authority dele- 
gated to thein, then it follows that Mississippi was not directly 
or indirectly, in point of fact, or in legal contemplation, a party 
to the proceeding. That she had notice, ei.her actual or con- 
structive, no one pretends. I take it, then, to be clear that if 
she can show that Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson exceeded the 



284 MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTISS. 

aiitlioritv delegated to them in claiinini? seats for the whole 
term of the twenty-fifth Cougress, she can neither be considered 
a party to, nor bound by, such unauthorized action on their part. 
I come now to the fifth and last branch of this subject, viz. : 
"that said pretended adjudication was founded upon palpable 
mistake, and that this House is bound to review it." All courts, 
both of laAv and equity, review their decisions when they appear 
to have been based upon palpable mistake: courts of law, by 
new trials and lorits of error coram noMs; courts of equity, by 
bills of review. And it would be strange indeed, when wrong 
is done through mistake, if there existed no power to rectify it. 
The mistake under which the House labored at the special ses- 
sion arose from its belief that the People of Mississippi voted 
for Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson as representatives to the 
twenty-fifth Congress^ and intended to elect them for the whole 
term. In proof of this, I refer to the speech of an honorable 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Howard), in which he bases a 
large portion of his argument and opinion in favor of the sitting 
members upon this supposed intention of the People; in proof 
of the existence of which he expresslj' says, " that they had the 
positive testimony of the sitting members in the shape of state- 
ments made in their places ; Avhile, on the other hand, the only 
evidence adduced to repudiate such statements was the j9^'(?ci'a- 
mation of the Governor, which, it was contended, constituted 
no evidence of the intention with which the people acted in the 
election held tmder its mandate." I have been told, also, by 
many honorable gentlemen, that they labored under the same 
apprehension, derived from the same source. Now, was the 
term for which the People intended to elect, and did really 
elect, in July, a material fact; and, if so, did the House labor 
under a mistake in relation to this fact; and was the decision, 
in any sort, based upon such mistake? It seems to me, from 
the very nature of representation, that the intention of the Peo- 
ple constitutes the most material subject of inquir}^ in the inves- 
tigation. Election is choice^ and choice cannot exist without in- 
tention, which is the very soul and life of the whole matter. An 
election is, in fact, nothing more, in all its forms, than a mode of 



SPEECH. 285 

ascertaining the intention of t?ie electors. Wben^ therefore, tliat 
intention is fully and legitimately ascertained, the election can- 
not be construed as extending beyond the intent and object of 
the electors; in other words, the act should not be construed 
beyond the will of the actors. If, then, the People of Missis- 
sippi did, in July last, intend to elect representatives for three 
months only, and did, in point of fact, vote for the purpose of 
filling that period of time alone, is it not an absurdity and a 
falsehood to assert that such election was for two years? It 
does not affect the matter at all to say that they had no right to 
elect for three months, but had a right to elect for two years. 
The only result of such a proposition would be, that the election 
was void, inasmuch as the people had attempted to do what the 
Constitution did not authorize them to do. It seems to me that 
no proposition can be clearer than this — that an unconstitu- 
tional election for three montJis cannot be considered a constitu~ 
tional election for two years.. To those members, then, who 
believed that the People of Mississippi had a right, in July, to 
elect representatives to the whole of the twenty-fifth Congress, 
the question certainly must be a material one, whether they did, 
in point of fact, do it. The House was made to believe that this 
was the intention of the people, and many eloquent appeals 
were made upon this floor, and with great effect, as I am told, 
against too strict and technical a construction of the Constitu- 
tion ; which, it was asserted, would violate the acknowledged 
will and intention of the people. I trust, sir, that the same 
tender regard for the will of the People of Mississippi which 
pervaded the House at the last session, will continue to influence 
it at the present. 

But was*the House mistaken in the view taken of the intent 
and object of the People of Mississippi at the July election ? Of 
this there cannot exist the slightest doubt upon the mind of any 
candid man. I have traversed almost the entire State since the 
July election, and mingled freely with men of all political parties ; 
and I assert, as a matter of fact, without hesitation or fear of 
contradiction, that the electors who voted in July did not vote 
or intend to elect for a longer period than what intervened 



286 , MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTISS. 

between that time and the regular election in November. No, 
sir ; if the gentlemen and all their i)arty could be saved, like the 
■wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, by the production of ten 
righteous men, of any political creed, in the State of Mississippi, 
who would certify that the election in July was intended, or 
holden for a longer period, still they would not be able to avert 
the destruction which is ready to fall, like a consuming fire, 
upon their beads. But I wish not to rest upon my own asser- 
tion only, notAvithstanding opportunity has afforded me the 
means of deriving my information in the matter from the best 
possible source — the People tliemselves. 

What is the evidence before the House of the extent and 
object of the July election ? First is the proclamation of the 
Governor, ordering the election for Representatives to fill the 
vacancy, " until superseded by the members to be elected at the 
regular November election." 

It is admitted on all hands, that the Governor only intended 
to order an election to the called session of Congress ; and that 
upon the face of the writ, an election is literally ordered only 
for that portion of the term anterior to the general election. So 
far, then, as the Executive action is concerned, the intention is 
conceded to have been in accordance with the terms in which it 
was expressed. Now, did the People vote in obedience to the 
whole writ, or did they select a portion of it as a legitimate 
mandate, and reject the remainder? In other words, did the 
people consider a portion of the writ surplusage, or did they act 
under it according to its admitted terms and meaning? In 
proof that they acted according to the whole command of the 
writ, and elected only for that portion of the term therein spe- 
cified, we have the evidence of two principal officers of the 
State, of opposite political sentiments, acting in obedience to 
the law of the State, under the responsibility of an oath, and 
both liable to impeachment, if they have ofiicially asserted a 
falsehood. The law of the State requires that, after an election 
for Congress, the Secretary of State shall sum up the votes 
returned, and declare by publication tiie result of the election. 
In this instance he performed his duty, and declared Messrs. 



SPEECH. 287 

Claiborne and Gholson duly elected to " the called session of 
Congress." This was an official act of the Secretary of State, 
who was, be it known, a political friend of the members elect, 
and therefore cannot be supposed to have been actuated by any 
inclination unfavorable to their claims. The law of the State 
further requires that, upon such publication being made, the 
Governor shall issue proper credentials to the persons elected, 

&c. 

The Governor did issue such credentials, in which he asserted 
the fact, that Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson had been elected 
only for that portion of time anterior to the November election. 
These two official assertions of the highest functionaries of the 
State, in relation to the extent of the July election, are certainly 
entitled to some weight, at least until controverted ; for, how 
can the intention of the people be better ascertained, than 
through tlie very channels provided by their laws as the 
medium of its communication ? 

But this is not all the evidence. Thirty days before the 
November election, the same sheriffs Avho had executed the 
Governor's writ, notified the people, according to law, that 
an election would be holden on the first Monday and day 
following in November, for Representatives to Congress ; thus 
positively repudiating the supposition that the e''ection which 
they had superintended in July was intended to fill the whole 
term. Here, then, is the evidence of more than fifty State 
officers, acting under oath, and asserting that the July election 
was not intended to supersede the November election. Again, 
at the November election, about 20,000 electors, a larger number 
than had ever before voted in the State, came forward and 
asserted at the polls that the July election was not intended to 
supersede the November election. Thus, we have on one side 
the united testimony of the Governor, the Secretary of State, 
fifty-one sheriffs, and 20,000 electors. And what have we on 
the other side to counterbalance this great mass of evidence? 
The unassisted and unsupported verbal statements of the sitting 
members. The House was not only mistaken, but deceived ; for 
the proper credentials issued by the Governor, though in the 



288 MEMOIR 01<' S. S. PREXTISS. 

possession of one of the gentlemen, were suppressed, and never 
produced either before the House or the committee. The evi- 
dence of their right, as appears from the last report of the com- 
mittee, consisted of a printed statement of the vote in the 
several counties, certified to he correct, but without date, or any 
designation whatever of the time, place, or result of the election 
to which it professed to relate — a sort of floating claim, which 
will be as good evidence of right to a seat ten years hence as it 
was at tlie special session. Sir, I do not make the grave charge 
of a suppression of evidence, in the ex j^ctrte examination which 
this matter underwent on a former occasion, without ample 
reason. Indeed, one of the gentlemen not only openly admits 
the suppression, but with a boldness which seems to indicate a 
total want of sensibility as to the impropriety of his course, 
avows that the reason why the proper and legal credentials 
were not produced arose from tlie fact that they limited his 
term of service to tlie special session. 

The following is tlie bold avowal made by Mr. Claiborne in 
Ills loritten siieecli^ which has had the peculiar good fortune to be 
placed upon the records of this house : " The ordinary certifi- 
cate of election, or credentials, were forwarded to my colleague, 
but never received bv him. Those sent to me were received: 
Ijut 'perceiving that tTiey contained the limitation of the term of 
service mentioned in the Governer's writ to hold the election, 
zee apjjlied for and oMained the statement from the Secretary 
of State, to "be used in tlieir steady It thus appears that the 
regular and official evidence of the gentlemen's right to seats 
was kept back, and spiLvious^ secondary^ and partial evidence, 
unknown to the law of the land, introduced in its steady upon 
the express ground that the primary and legitimate evidence did 
not sustain their claim to seats in the twenty-fifth Congress. It 
is but justice, however, to Mr. C. to say, that he charges the 
committee with the Avhole odium of the concealment ; for he 
says in continuation of the remarks above quoted, " KM this was 
distinctly stated by us to the Committee of Elections in Septem- 
ber last." But the Committee of Elections did not see fit to 
communicate to the House this important fact in relation to the 



SPEECH. 



289 



very certificate upou which tliey were instructed to report. 
Knowing, according to the statement of Mr. C, that a certifi- 
cate of election was in existence, but kept back, solely on 
account of its insufficiency to sustain the claim set up by the 
gentlemen possessing it, the committee, in palpable violation of 
the instructions of the House, neither compel its production, nor 
take notice of its existence ; but make a report favorable to the 
claimants, based upon partial and secondary evidence, avowedly 
obtained for the express purpose of avoiding the effect and 
operation of the certificate of election. 

The committee have not denied the assertion of Mr. C, that 
he informed them of these facts. Possessing this information, 
I know not how they could reconcile it with their consciences 
to conceal it from the House. However, it is with the facts and 
not with the consciences of the committee that my business 
lies. The facts which I have stated are now uncontroverted. I 
leave them without comment to the judgment of the House, 
with this single question. Were not many honorable gentlemen 
deceived and mistaken as to the intention and extent of the 
July election. And did they not consider that intention a 
material fact in arriving at a conclusion favorable to the claim 
of the sitting members? 

In conclusion of this branch of my argument, I have only to 
say, that I have looked and listened in vain for the reason and 
authority upon which to sustain the assumption taken by my 
opponents, that this House cannot review or reverse its previous 

decisit)n. 

Let us examine the position a moment. By what rule is this 
House imperatively governed and bound in its own proceedings? 
Eirst, by the Constitution of the United States, and the laws 
passed "in pursuance thereof; and, secondly, by the regulations 
adopted for its own government, so long as these regulations 
remain unrescinded. It is bound no further. The rules of pro- 
ceeding in courts of justice are of no force in this Hall beyond 
what propriety and a sense of justice may warrant. There is no 
provision in the Constitution, the laws, or the regulations adopted 
by this House, which forbids a review and reversal of the de- 

13 



290 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

cision of the last session. The analogies, drawn from the courts 
of law, address themselves only to the propriety and not to the 
right of this House. From the technical arguments, so elabor- 
ately deduced from that source, one would rather suppose this 
was a county court, than the high court of parliament. 

It would be strange, indeed, if the American Congress was the 
only body in which wrong once committed is incapable of repar- 
ation, and error' hardened into a judicial decision, becomes 
impervious to truth. 

The House has, by referring the subject to a committee, 
acknowledged jurisdiction over it, and has thereby decided the 
matter to be still within its control: for it would be a mockery, 
after having proceeded for weeks, through its committee, in tlie 
investigation, now to say that it has the power to examine, but 
not the power to conclude ; the power to hear, but not the 
power to judge. 

I have thus, Mr. Speaker, endeavored to show, not only that 
this House has the power to review its former deci!:ion, but that 
justice requires it to exercise that power. I have attempted to 
clear the way to the examination of the great constitutional 
question involved, and trust my labor has not been entirely 
without success. Upon the supposition that the House will 
come to the conclusion that, if wrong has been done, no princi- 
ple stands in the way of its reparation, I shall proceed to tlie 
examination of the propositions laid down in the early part of 
my argument. And, first, that the election of Messrs. Claiborne 
and Gholson, in July last, was unconstitutional, null, and void. 

The election was holden in July, by virtue of the proclamation 
of the State Executive. Two questions arise: First. Had the 
Governor of Mississippi constitutional power to order at that 
time an election for Eepresentatives to the Twenty-fifth Con- 
gress? Second. Did he exercise the power? First. Had he the 
power? He had it not by virtue of any provision in the Con- 
stitution or laws of the State. All his authority over tlie subject 
of election of Representatives to Congress is derived from the 
Constitution of the United States, and is embraced in the folloAv- 
ing clause, Art. I., sec. 2: "When vacancies happen in the 



SPEECH. . 291 

representation from any State, the Executive authority thereof 
sljall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies." Upon the 
construction of this clause the whole controversy as to the first 
point hinges. Let us, then, endeavor to ascertain what the 
framers of the Constitution meant by a *' vacancy in the repre- 
sentation from a State." 

The best rule of interpretation is to ascertain, if practicable, 
the intent and object of the law-giver, and then so construe the 
words as to cover the intent and attain the object. This intent 
may be best ascertained by a consideration of the necessity 
which gave rise to the provision. The framers of the Constitu- 
tion, in prescribing the general modes through wliich the right 
of representation should be exercised, very wisely concluded that 
the regulation of this most important of all political rights should 
be placed in the hands of the Legislatures of the States respec- 
tively, as the safest depositories of so important a trust. Accord- 
ingly they provided, by the fourth section of the first article, 
that '"the times, places, and manner of holding elections for 
Senators and Ttepresentatives shall be prescribed in each State 
by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time 
by laAv make or alter such regulations, except as to the place of 
choosing Senators." 

Here the power of prescribing the time, place, and manner of 
holding elections for Representatives is not given to the State 
Executive in any contingency, but to the State Legislature, sub- 
ject to no paramount authority except a law of Congress. But 
if the Constitution had stopped here, it would have been de- 
fective; for though the State Legislatures, knowing when the 
regular term would expire, could regulate the time, place, and 
manner of elections to fill the term, yet they could not foresee 
and provide for vacancies which might happen in the representa- 
tion after the term is filled. The regular vacancies which must 
occur in the office biennially and at stated periods could of course 
be foreseen and provided for by legi>lative action. The power 
to provide for the filling of these periodical vacancies, in the 
office of Representative, was clearl}' placed with the State Legis- 
latures, subject to tho control of Congress. But inasmuch as 



292 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



vacancies might happen in the representation from a State^ 
chosen according to law to fill the term — hy contingencies of 
various sorts, such as death, resignation, &c., and inasmuch as 
the State Legi.slature, not being always in session, could not con- 
veniently provide for or aot upon such unforeseen contingencies, 
it was thouglit proper to make it the duty of the State Executive 
to notify the people, and direct an election to be held when such 
an event occurred. For though the people know, by the general 
election law, when they shall convene and elect their Repre- 
sentatives for each Congress, yet, having once elected them, they 
cannot be supposed to know when a vacancy happens in such 
representation, neither can any law notify them. It is therefore 
rendered the duty of the Executive to issue his writ for the pur- 
pose of informing them that a vacancy has hajii^ened. This of 
itself shows that it was not intended to give the Executive the 
power to order an election to fill the regular periodical vacancies 
which constitutionally occur every two years in the office of 
Eepresentative, but only such vacancies as "happen in the 
representation from a State," after such a representation has 
been created under the general election law; for if so, what 
necessity for a writ to notify the people of that of which, by the 
Constitution, they are already apprised ? The terms of the Con- 
stituticm, which clothe the Executive with all the power which 
he possesses on this subject, are peculiar, and have never before 
formed the subject of direct decision. The phraseology differs 
remarkably from that used in relation to senatorial vacancies, to 
be provided for by Executive appointment. The language in the 
latter case is : " And if vacancies happen by resignation or otJier- 
wise^ during the recess of the Legislature of any State, the Exe- 
cutive thereof may make temporary appointments, until the next 
meeting of the Legislatui-e, which shall then fill such vacancies." 
Here the term vacancy is generally used, and might, with some 
show of propriety, perhaps, be applied to the office itself. But 
not so in relation to the provision under discussion;' the term 
vacancy, in this case, applies not to the office, but to the repre- 
sentation. It is not, " when a vacanc}' happens," nor, " when a 
vacancy happens in the office of representative ;" but, " when 



SPEECH. 293 

vacancies happen in tlie representationivom. any State, the Execu- 
tive authority shall," &c. Now, I hold that the office is one thing, 
and the representation, which exercises or fills the office, an- 
other; and that, though there cannot be a vacancy in the repre- 
sentation without a vacancy in the office, yet there may be a 
vacancy in the office without a vacancy in the representation. 
The representation from a State consists of the persons chosen 
to fill the representative offices of that State. 

This reprecentation expires or goes out of office on the 3d of 
March biennially, by constitutional limitation ; at least such is 
the construction which has always been recognized by the Gov- 
ernment. Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson constituted the re- 
presentation from the State of Mississippi in the 2-ith Congress. 
Tlieir term of service and the 24th Congress both expired on the 
3d of March last In July the Governor issued his writ to fill 
vacancies in the representation from the State to the 2oth Con- 
gress; btit there had never been any representation from the 
State to the 25th Congress. How, then, could there have been 
a vacancy in what had never existed ; in other words, how could 
there be a vacancy in a vacancy? There was, when the Gov- 
ernor issued his writ, and ever had been, not vacancies in the 
representation from the State, but a total vacancy of representa- 
tion to the 25th Congress. 

Whatever may be the correctness of ray views upon this 
point, no one will deny that the language, spirit, and intent of 
the Constitution combine to place, as far as practicable, the 
matter of elections for Representatives and Senators under 
the control of the State Legislatures, and not under the 
control of the State Executives. The power of the State 
Executive was manifestly intended to complete and perfect the 
system, by embracing that portion of the subject upon Avhich 
legislative action Avould be inconvenient or impracticable. 
Indeed, so vitally important was it considered to the indepen- 
dence of the States that the legislation should be entirely 
untrammelled in prescribing the time, place, and manner of 
elections, that it was with great difficulty that the States were 
persuaded to acquiesce in the controlling power given to Con- 



294 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

gress to make or alter by law the State regulations. If you will 
look, sir, into the debates in the different conventions upon the 
adoption of tlje Federal Constitution, you will find that no pro- 
vi?ion Avas more debated (u- received with greater jealousy. All 
the States took the ground that the most important of their 
political powers consisted in the control, through their Legisla- 
tures, over the time, places, and manner of election ; and the 
ultimate supervisory power was reluctantly placed with Con- 
gress, upon the express ground that it was necessary for the 
preservation of the Government ; that, without this provision, 
the States might neglect to make an}^ regulations on the 
subject, or might fix the times of election at such periods as to 
prevent a representation, and thereby cause a dissolution of the 
Government. It was admitted in all the debates that this 
power of providing for a deficiency or failure of action on the 
part of the State Legislatures did not and could not Avith pro- 
priety reside anyv/here else than in Congress. Still the States 
were so jealous on this subject that most of them accompanied 
their ratifications of the Constitution with a solemn protest 
against the exercise by Congress of this power, exce])t in cases 
of failure or neglect on the part of the State Legislatures ; and 
also with standing instructions to their delegates, in all future 
time, to obtain, as early as practicable, an amendment of the 
Constitution, limiting the action of Congress on this matter to 
such cases of neglect and failure only. The ratifications of 
South Carohna, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, jSTew 
York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, if not others, contain 
such protests and instructions. 

In all the commentaries upon this provision of the Constitu- 
tion ; in the able essays of the Federalist; in the interpretations 
of that eminent jurist. Judge Story ; in the legislative con- 
structions of all the States, it has been considered as well 
settled as any other principle of the Government, that the 
power to provide for any failure, or neglect, or improper regula- 
tion on the part of the State Legislatures in relation to the time^ 
places, and manner of election, resides nowhere except in a law 
of Congress. That the power of supplying a deficiency of legis- 



SPEECH. 



295 



lative action on this subject exists, as has been advanced in this 
discussion, in the governors of the States, is a doctrine not less 
novel than absurd. The second section of the first article, by 
which such power is supposed to be conveyed, was deemed so 
trilling in its character, and so incapable of misconstruction, 
that it was never once alluded to in the debates in convention 
of any State, nor in the commentaries of any writer. It 
remained for the boldness of tiie present day to assert that this 
clause contains the great conservative principle, the self-pre- 
serving power, which the fooHsh framers of the Constitution, 
and tlie blind generations which came after them, imagined had 
been embraced in the fourth section, and confined in its exer- 
cise to Congress alone. 

The whole power and jurisdiction over the subject is, by the 
Constitution, divided between the State Legislatures, subject to 
the control of Congress and the State Executive. Now, there 
is no principle of our Government more important or better 
settled than that which limits the exercise of a power to the 
department in which it is constitutionally deposited. It is this 
principle, more than any other, that constitutes the beauty and 
cafety of our political system. The executive cannot exercise 
legislative, nor the legislative executive functions. Whatever, 
then, may be the meaning of the clause, " when vacancies hap- 
pen in the representation from a State," &c., it is clear that the 
power and jurisdiction to direct elections to fill such vacancies 
belong exclusively to the Executive authority of the State. No 
one, I imagine, will contend that the Legislature could direct 
elections to fill such vacancies. So, on the other hand, it will 
hardly be contended that the Executive can exercise the legis- 
lative power given in the fourth section of the first article. 
The powers, whatever they may be, are distinct and inde- 
pendent. 

I have attempted, by a fair construction of both sections, to 
show that the legislative authority embraced the general election, 
and prescribed the time, place, and manner of the election to fill 
the term, after which election the Executive jurisdiction at- 
tached, with power to supply all vacancies which might happen 



296 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

in the representation so previously elected. This construction 
prevents the executive and legislative power from clashing, is 
consonant with reason and the spirit of the Constitution, and is 
based upon principles which have been repeatedly recognized. 
The case of John Hoge, page 135 Contested Elections, involved 
the question whether, in the absence of any legislation on the 
subject, the Governor of a State could, when a vacancy had hap- 
pened in the representation from the State, not only issue his 
writ, but fix in it the time and place of election. It was decided 
that he could, and upon the express ground that the fourth sec- 
tion of the first article, giving the Legislature the power to fix 
the time, place, &c., applied to general elections, and not to cases 
of vacancies which might happen, and that the poAver given in 
the second section to the Executive authority was an exclusive, 
independent power, carrying with it all the incidental powers 
necessary for its complete exercise. I understand it to be ex- 
pressly recognized, both by the decision and the arguments in 
this case, that the executive and legislative powers over elections 
are distinct and independent, and not concurrent ; that the general 
election law of a State has no application to such cases as come 
within the jurisdiction of the Executive, but that the Executive 
can, in such cases, act without any regulation or law whatever 
on the subject. 

The case of Kensey Johns (Contested Elections, p. 874) is still 
more in point. The facts were these : Geo. Eead, Senator from 
Delaware, resigned his seat on the 18th September, 1793, during 
the recess of the Legislature. The Legislature met in January 
and adjourned in February, 1794, Vv^ithout electing a Senator. 
On the 19th of March, after said adjournment, Kensey Johns 
was appointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy. 

Upon this state of facts, the committee reported the following 
resolution, which was adopted by a vote of 20 to 7 : 

" Resolved, That Kensey Johns, appointed by the Governor of the State of Dela- 
ware as a Senator of the United States for said State, is not entitled to a seat in the 
Senate of tlie United States, a session of the Legislature of the said State having 
intervened between the resignation of the said George Read, and the appointment 
of the said Kensey Johns." 

jSTow tliis case was decided obviously upon the principle that 



SPEECH. "^' 



after the iiirisdiction of the Legislature attached, the Executive 
power ceased ; and tlmt the failure of the Legislature to exercise 
jurisdiction and perform its duty did not re-invest the Executive 
4ith any authority on the subject. Tet, after the adjournment 
of the Legislature, there was, according to the doctrines of my 
opponents; a vacancy, ^vhich had happened, by the failure ot the 
Lecrisiature to do its duty. And so far as arguments of necessity 
ex^ediencv, or convenience were concerned, it was incumbent 
upon the Governor, as much as in the case now belore the House, 
to have filled the vacancy. From the decision in Kensey Johns s 
case as well as from the general principles of law, I lay down 
the following rule: " That the failure of one department of 
Government to exercise a constitutional power does not author- 
ize another department to exercise it unless such authority is 
expressly delegated to the Constitution." 

I have already laid down the rule deduced from the case of 
Hoc^e • " Tliat the legislative authority to fix the time, place, and 
manner of election, &c., and the executive authority to issue 
.vrits to fill vacancies, are entirely distinct; in other words, that 
the second and fourth sections of the first article convey sepa- 
rate and independent, and not concurrent powers." 

Let US apply these rules to the present case. And, in the fii-st 
place, let us see whether the legislature of the State of .^issis- 
sippi has, by any law, fixed the time, place, and manner of elec- 
tion for representatives. 

The o-eneral election law of that State, enacted 2d March, 1833, 
prescribes the places and manner of all elections, and expressly 
directs that the election of representatives to Congress shall take 
place on the 1st Monday and day following in November of 
every second year. It will be perceived by this provision that 
the time for the general election is fixed several months subse- 
quent to the expiration of the previous term. Is this a constitu- 
tional law? In other words, have the State legislatures the 
constitutional power to fix for the general election ot represen- 
tatives to Congress a time subsequent to the expiration of the 
Congress preceding that for which the election is to be holuen 
Will any one dare to say they have not the constitutional power i 

13* 



298 MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTISS. 

If they have it not, Ayhat "svill become of the delegations from 
half the States who at this very moment hold their seats by 
virtue of elections holdeu since the 4th of March last, at the 
times prescribed by the legislatures of their respective States? 
If they have it not, what Congress, since tlie formation of the 
Government, has been constitutionally composed? Sir, if this 
House denies the power of the legislature of Mississippi in fixing 
the election of her representatives to the twenty-fifth Congress, 
at a period subsequent to the expiration of the twenty-fourth 
Congress, then are one-half its members bound to accompany 
me out of this Hall. The policy of late elections is a good one, 
for it increases the accountability of the representative to his 
constituents, and renders him more amenable to their judgment. 
Before he can be re-elected, his whole course is subject to be 
canvassed, and at the bar of public opinion he is compelled to 
answer for the deeds done in this body. Indeed, so favorably 
has this policy been viewed, that in 1825, a member fromlSTorth 
Carolina introduced into this House the following resolution: 
'"'' Resolved^ That a committee be appointed to inquire into the 
propriety of altering the election laws of the several States, so 
as to provide that no election shall take place for members of 
the House of Representatives of the United States until the term 
of service shall have expired for Avhich they had been elected." 
This resolution was referred to a select committee ; and though 
the committee afterwards reported that it was inexpedient at 
that time to make any change in the election laws of the several 
States, yet this very report (at a time when so many States pur- 
sued this mode) shows that such election laws were recognized 
as constitutional and proper. The case of Herri ck, which you 
will find among your contested elections, and than wiiich no 
case of the sort was ever more ably or fully discussed, recognizes 
and sustains the same principle; nor can a case or an authority 
be found to repudiate or deny it. 

The only limitation to this power of the legislature is con- 
tained in the first section of the first article of the Constitution, 
wdiich provides that representatives shall be chosen every second 
year. If the law of Mississippi does not violate that clause, then 



SPEECH. 299 

is it constitutional, and no power on earth, except the power 
wljich made it, or a law of Congress, can abrogate it. Should 
the legislature of any State refuse to appoint a time for election, 
or appoint it at an improper period, then it would doubtless be 
the duty of Congress to interfere, and by its paramount authority 
regulate the matter. Each State is interested in being duly 
represented in Congress, and that interest was considered sufficient 
to warrant a ready action, on the part of their legislatures, in 
prescribing a proper time, place, and manner of election. But 
inasmuch as it also interests the whole nation, that every State 
should be represented, the power was given to Congress of alter- 
ing the State regulations, or making new ones, should necessity 
require it. To have placed an additional control over the State 
regulations in some third department, would have been absurd 
and unnecessary ; for Congress is surely a safe and ample depo- 
sitory of the national rights and interests in the matter. At any 
rate, it is hardly to be supposed that the constitution would have 
adopted the State Executives as such third department, to pro- 
tect and preserve the Federal Government, upon the failure of 
the State legislatures and of Congress to do their duty. 

I take it, then, to be perfectly clear that the State legislatures 
can constitutionally fix the time for the general election of repre- 
sentatives to Congress at a period subsequent to the expiration 
of the previous term ; and that such a regulation is of binding 
force until changed or abrogated by a law of Congress. If I am 
correct in this conclusion, then the law of Mississippi fixing the 
first Monday and day following of November, of each second 
year, as the time for the election of her representatives, is a con- 
stitutional and valid law ; for Congress has neither changed nor 
abrogated it. Under that law, and in pursuance of all its pro- 
visions, I have been elected a representative from the State of 
Mississippi. If the law is constitutional, then am I the constitu- 
tional representative of that State. It is an absurdity in terms 
to admit the validity of the law, and at the same time oppose its 
operation, and deny the validity of its legitimate action. 

Suppose the Governor had not ordered a special election in 
July, and I had presented myself with the credentials which I 



800 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

hold, showing iny due election in ISTovember, under the general 
election law of the State, would there have been a moment's hesi- 
tation in admitting me ? Clearly not ; for by precisely the sam.e 
tenure the members from half the States now occupy their 
seats. 

It is contended by the sitting members, however, that on the 
4th of March last, there haiJpened a vacancy in the twenty-fifth 
Congress, within the contemplation of the 2d section, and that 
the Governor had authority to issue his writ to fill it. 

In regard to this position, there is no doubt that on the 4th of 
March the office of representatives from the State of Mississippi, 
in the twenty-fifth Congress, was vacant, and of course there 
was a vacancy in the ofiBce, which continued up to the time on 
which the Governor issued his writ. But I have already at- 
tempted to show that it was not a vacancy w^hich had happened 
in the representation from that State, within the meaning of the 
2d section, 1st article. It was one of those regular, stated, and 
periodical vacancies, for which it was the duty of the legislature, 
and not of the Executive, to provide, and for which the general 
election law of the State does, as I contend, make full constitu- 
tional provision. All elections, whether general or special, 
whether by law or by executive authority, are to fill vacancies; 
for an oflfice must be vacant before it can bo filled ; and a power 
to fill all vacancies would be a power to fill all offices. It is 
true, as the gentlemen say in their argument, that the propriety 
of filling a vacancy does not depend upon the particular mode 
of its happening ; but upon the particular mode of its happening 
may well depend the propriety of placing the power of directing 
the time, place, and manner of filling it in the hands of the Legis- 
lature, instead of the Executive. The Constitution intended that 
all vacancies should be filled ; but it gave to the Legislature 
the authority to direct the filling of the regular periodical vacan- 
cies, and to the Executive the direction in filling vacancies which 
were unforeseen, and the result of accident and contingency. 
Each of these depositaries may neglect to exercise the delegated 
power, but such neglect does not transfer the power. "Will any 
one contend that, upon the resignation 'of a representative, and 



SPEECH. 301 

the delay of the GoYernor in issuing his Avrit, the Legislature 
could order the election to fill such vacancy ? 

It is conceded, on all hands, that the proclamation of the Pre- 
sident, convening Congress, did not create the vacancy, but that 
it existed as fully on the 4th of March as when the Governor 
issued his writ to fill it. Now, for the sake of argument, admit 
that it came within the meaning of the 2d section of the 1st 
article, and let us see the result. At what time must the Governor 
issue his writ, ordering an election to fill a vacancy ? The Con- 
stitution says, "when vacancies happen in the representation 
from any State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs," 
&c. The happening of the vacancy, then, indicates the time 
when the executive authority shall act: his duty is clear and 
positive : he has no discretion whether he shall act or not : his 
only discretion is that which necessarily attaches to the exercise 
of the duty, in the fixing of a reasonable time, place, and manner 
of election. The issuing of his writ, denoting the time, place, 
and manner, is a duty incumbent upon him, so soon as he is 
aware " that a vacancy has happened," &c. The vacancy under 
consideration, if it happened at all, happened on the 4th of March. 
It was a regular, anticipated, and foreseen vacancy. The Gover- 
nor knew beforehand when it would happen ; and was bound, 
immediately upon its happening, to obey the imperative com- 
mand 0? the Constitution, and issue his writ of election. The 
Constitution does not say "when Congress is convened," or 
" when an emergency arises," or " when the executive authority 
deems it expedient and necessary," he shall issue his writ of 
election; but "when vacancies happen," &c., he shall do it. 
The argument of Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson, submitted to 
the committee at the special session, presents probably the first 
instance on record of a grave attempt to prove that the execu- 
tive authority of a State is not bound to perform an act which 
the Constitution expressly commands, unless he thinks the per- 
formance of such act necessary and expedient ; and that, if he 
thinks no inconvenience is likely to result from his failure to 
obey the command, he need not obey it; in other words, that 
the performance or non-performance, by the Executive, of con- 



302 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

stitutional duties, depends entirely upon executive discretion. 
Surely these are new and elastic principles of constitutional law, 
and must be exceedingly palatable to executive taste. 

I have always understood that when the Constitution directs 
the performance of an act, by a ministerial officer, the direction 
itself is a constitutional decision that such act is necessary and 
expedient, and that the agent to whom the performance is as- 
signed, has no right whatever to interpose his discretion or judg- 
ment as to its expediency or necessity. 

I take it, then, that the provision making it incumbent upon 
the executive authority to issue his writ, w^hen vacancies happen, 
&c., is of itself a constitutional decision, both of the necessity 
and expediency of the act, whenever the contingency occurs. 
If I am correct in these positions, and this was a vacancy within 
the 2d section of the 1st article, it follows, as a matter of course, 
that the Governor was bound, immediately after the 4th of 
March (the time when it happened (, to issue his writ of elec- 
tion ; and that he had no discretionary power to abstain from 
the act. 

Now, if the executive authority was bound on the 4th of 
March, to issue his writ of election to fill this vacancy, it seems 
^'* to me clear that the law of Mississippi, professing to provide 

' for filling the same vacancy in the November following, is 

an unconstitutional law, and a nullity. The Constitution has 
made no provision that the Legislature shall act in those cases in 
which the Executive shall have failed to do his duty. All the 
power of the Legislature is original and independent of executive 
action. If, then, the framers of the Constitution intended to 
embrace in the 2d section of the 1st article the cases of periodi- 
cal vacancies, arising from the expiration of the previous term 
of office, they must have considered that fidl provision was made 
for the filling such vacancies, in the injunction placed upon the 
executive authority to issue his writ whenever they happened. 
I say they must have considered so, for they nowhere made any 
provision to supply the failure of executive action. It is obvious, 
under such a construction, that the State Legislatures have no 
power to pass general laws fixing the time for election of Repre- 



SPEECH. 303 

sentatives, at periods when, by constitutional provision and in 
constitutional contemplation, the office has been already filled 
through the executive authority. In other words, it would be 
absurd to construe the Constitution as giving to the Legislatures 
power to do what, in constitutional contemplation, was already 
done. 

But suppose the gentlemen are right in their proposition, 
that tlie State Executive may issue the writ or not, at his dis- 
cretion. I understand them to admit that if the State Execu- 
tive fails to issue his writ, the election under the general law 
would be good. It is also admitted, on all sides, and fully 
decided in the case of Hoge, that the State Executive has the 
power in his writ of election to designate the time and place. 
Let us see how these propositions can stand together. 

Suppose the Governor of Mississippi had issued his writ, and, 
according to the autliority which the. gentlemen ascribe to him, 
had ordered an election to have been holden at the same time 
prescribed for the general election, but at different places from 
those designated by the law : suppose a portion of the people 
Lad voted at the places fixed by law, and the reniainder at the 
places appointed by the executive authoritj-; two sets of 
Eepresentatives are chosen; which are entitled to seats? The 
elections are simultaneous, but under two distinct authorities, 
each claiming the constitutional power to order and direct the 
same. My opponents admit that each possesses the power ; but 
both, of course, cannot exercise it. In the case supposed they 
come in direct collision. Which is paramount, the law of the 
State or the executive writ ? 

Even if the powers are concurrent, it is a clear principle, 
that where there are concurrent jurisdictions, that which first 
attaches controls the subject-matter. N'ow, the law of the 
State fixing the time for the election of Representatives to the 
twenty-fifth Congress on the first Monday of J^ovember vras 
enacted, and of course its jurisdiction attached, long before the 
Governor claimed his jurisdiction and issued his writ. It is 
admitted that, but for the executive action, the election in 
November would have been valid. This drives gentlemen 



304 MEMOir. or s. s. prentiss. 

inevitably to the position, tliat the authority of the State 
Executive is paramount to the law ; and that every law, either 
of the State or of Congress, fixing the time of election for 
Eepresentatives after the expiration of the previous term, can 
at any time after such ex})iration of the previous term, be 
abrogated and utterly annulled at the discretion of the State 
Executive. Suppose Congress, under its constitutional power 
to make or alter the election laws, had passed tlie very law that 
Mississippi has enacted: still, according to gentlemen's argu- 
ment, such a law would have been entirely at the mercy of the 
State Executive. This is nullification with a vengeance. South 
Carolina claimed the power to nullify an unconstitutional law of 
Congress: my opponents contend for the right in the State 
Executive to nullify an admitted constitutional law either of tlie 
States or of Congress; for the principle is precisely the same, 
whether applied to a law of the State or a law of Congress. 
The law of the State of Mississippi is either constitutional or it 
is not. If it is constitutional, then the appointment of the first 
Monday in November for the time of election, is a constitutional 
decision by the constitutional authority that the first Monday of 
November is a proper time for such election. The Legislature 
has exercised, in fixing that time, the general discretion which, 
by the Constitution, it undoubtedly possessed over the subject ; 
it may have exercised it improperly. The period fixed may be 
too late for public convenience and the general interest. But so 
long as the law continues to be constitutional, the time desi^- 
nated in it is constitutionally right and proper. But it may be 
asked, is there no remedy ? Can the States, by improper regu- 
lations on this subject, stop or impede the operations of the 
Government? 

This question has been already answered, in the previous part 
of the argument. 

The sage founders of our poHtical system contemplated the 
possibility, that the States might refuse to make any flection 
laws, or might make improper ones, and, in consequence, 
expressly delegated to Congress the power "to make or alter 
such regulations." The discretion of Congress, in deciding what 



SPEECH. ^^^ 



is a proper time, is thus made paramount to that of ihe State 
Lec^islatures. But, in the present instance, Congress has not 
thought it necessary to alter the State regulation. This, of 
itself is an admission, on the part of Congress, that the State 
Legislature has not improperly exercised its discretion. It lias, 
then, been decided, by the Legislature of the State of Missis- 
sippi having, by the Constitution, full and express jurisdiction 
over 'the matter, that the first Monday of November last was a 
proper time for the people of that State to elect their Kepresen- 
tatives to the twenty-fifth Congress. 

This decision has been recognized by Congress as correct, by 
its failure to interpose its supervisory power to alter the regu- 
lation And yet the monstrous doctrine is advanced by my 
opponents, that there resided in the executive breast a special 
discretion, paramount to the general discretion of the State 
legislature and Congress combined, and fully competent o 
decide that November was not a proper time for the people to 
elect representatives; but that July was; and, accordingly, to 
alter the time from November to July. Will gentlemen point 
out to me the clause of the Constitution conferring upon the 
State Executive so strange and anomalous a power. 

I have offered these views to show the absurdity of admitting 
the right of the State legislatures to fix the time for the general 
election subsequent to the expiration of the previous terms of 
office, and at the same time to contend for the position, that such 
periodical vacancies in the office fall within the provision ot the 
second section of the first article, and are subject to be filled by 
virtue of the executive authority. The error into which gentle- 
men fall, in the interpretation of this second section, arises from 
a disregard of one of the most obvious rules of construction; 
which is, that where there are several provisions in regard to 
the same subject, they must be construed together. The same 
provision, and the same words, when taken independemly, wil 
frequently authorize a construction totally at war with that 
which will be at once acknowledged as the legitimate meaning, 
when the provision is construed in connection with others on 
the same subject. 



806 • MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

Did the second section of the first article of the Constitution 
stand alone, it might undoubtedly bear a construction broader 
than that which I apply to it — perhaps even as extensive as that 
for which my opponents contend ; and it seems to me that the 
committee, on a former occasion, in considering this clause, did 
construe it as entirely independent, and with a total disregard 
to the other constitutional provisions in j)ciri materia. N'ow, 
it is perfectly obvious that this clause cannot be fairly inter- 
preted except in connection with the fourth section, which 
relates to the same subject. The second section gives the State 
Executives certain powers over the subject of elections. The 
fourth section gives to the State legislatures certain powers over 
the same subject. 

Now, before defining the extent of the powers delegated in 
either of these clauses, let us settle a preliminary question. Do 
these two clauses convey concurrent or independent powers ? I 
have already, in a previous part of my argument, asserted my 
views upon this point. But I cannot refrain from again ealhng 
to it the attention of the House. I assert the powers to be inde- 
pendent ; that one is the complement of the other ; that where 
the authority of the State legislatures ceases, there the executive 
authority commences; thus embracing the whole subject, and 
constituting a harmonious circle of power. I have shown, from 
the precedents in this House, that this principle has been long 
recognized and adopted as a rule of action. In the case of 
Hoge, it was expressly decided that cases coming within the 
operation of the second section of the first article, do not come 
within the operation of the fourth section. I have further 
asserted the principle, that, in the distribution of the powers 
which, in their aggregate, form the Federal Government, the 
Constitution does not contemplate or authorize, in any instance, 
the exercise, by two different departments at the same time, of 
the same power over the same subject-matter. The adverse 
cont-truction would involve an absurdity. A constitution author- 
izing such a duplicate action, would be so defective that govern- 
ment could not be carried on under it. Like a piece of badly 
constructed machinery, in which the wheels interfere with each 



SPEECH. • 307 

Other, it would soon fall in pieces by the collision of its own 
parts. 

In construing the two sections of the Constitution which 
regulate the elections to this House, we should endeavor to pre- 
vent their clashing, and not interpret one at the expense of the 
oiher. We must give such a construction as will let both clauses 
live : " iLt res magis valeat quam jpereatP 

The construction Avhich I have attempted to establish is of 
this character. I contend that the legislative authority alone 
can prescribe the time of election for filling the regular periodi- 
cal vacancies which constitutionally arise, from the expiration 
of each Congress ; and that the executive jurisdiction only 
extends to such vacancies as happen, by accident and contin- 
gency in the representation, after the legislative action has been 
exhausted. By my construction, the two clauses can both stand 
without conflict. By the construction of my opponents, they 
clash liarshly together, and one is compelled to give way to the 
other. The law of the State is forced to bend to tlie discretion 
of the State Executive. Like the misletoe bough, which flour- 
ishes at the expense of the tree to which it is attached, till the 
exhausted parent dies, in the greedy embrace of its ungrateful 
offspring, so does their construction of the executive power eat 
out and destroy the legislative authority upon which it was 
originally engrafted. 

Gentlemen are forced to admit that the State legislature can 
fix the time for election at a period subsequent to the expiration 
of the previous term ; while, at the same time, it is contended 
that, in all such cases, the State Executive may designate for the 
election such time as he pleases. Xow, to be consistent, they 
should deny the existence of this power in the legislature ; for it 
involves an absolute absurdity to claim for the Executive of 
Mississip[)i the right to fix the time for the election in July; and, 
at the same time, to admit the existence of a legi.-lative power 
to direct the holding of the same election in jSTovember. The 
legislature of Mississippi did, by law, direct that the representa- 
tives to the twenty-fifih Congress should be elected on the first 
Monday, and day following, in aSTovember. The executive author- 



308 .MEilOIR OF 3. S. PRENTISS. 

ity of the same State, did direct an election (which gentlemen 
contend was also for the twenty-fifth Congress) to be holden in 
July preceding. Now, it seems to me self-evident that either 
the legislative or executive action was without constitutional 
sanction ; for the act of one is clearly invalid. The accidental 
call of an extraordinary session of Congress, and the embar- 
rassing condition of the ct)nntry, are not, either separately or 
combined, sufficient to suspend the operation or validity of a 
constitutional law. I take it that such considerations have no 
legitimate bearing whatever upon the question in controversy. 
Let, then, gentlemen boldly and directly take the ground which 
they have indirectly taken ; let them grapple the question hon- 
estly and fairly; let them assert, at once, the position that the 
State legislatures cannot constitutionally fix the election of their 
representatives to Congress at times subsequent to the expiration 
of the term preceding that for which the election is to be 
holden; for this position is the necessary consequence of their 
assumption, that this very power resides with the State Execu- 
tive. 

If the view of the Constitution which I have taken be correct, 
then the Governor of Mississippi had no power to order an elec- 
tion in July last, and the election held under his mandate was 
unconstitutional and void. 

If, however, I am mistaken in my construction, and the 
Governor had the power to supersede tKe law, and order an 
election for the twenty-fifth Congress, the question then arises, 
did he exercise it ? The proclamation or writ of the Governor, 
after reciting that a vacancy had happened, by the expiration of 
the previous term of service,'*oommands the different sheriffs to 
hold an election for representatives to -fill such vacancy, '■'•until 
svxjerseded 'by the memlers to de elected at the next regular elec- 
tion^ on the first Monday, and day folloioing^ in Noveniber 
ncxt.''^ 

The proclamation or writ, it will be jjerceived, does not, in 
point of fact, order an election for the whole of the twenty-fifcli 
Congress, but only for that portion of it anterior to the general 
election in November, and upon its face certainly does not 



SPEECH. 



309 



authorize an election for a loDger period. But, under the crea- 
tive power of the majority of the Committee of. Elections, it 
has grown up into an ample authority for holding an election to 
fill the whole term. 

The ratiocination by which they arrived at this remarkable 
conclusion is a curious specimen of argumentative absurdity. 

The Governor, say these syllogistic gentlemen, had no right to 
order an election fur a period less than the unexpired term. He 
did, however, we admit, order an election for only a small por- 
tion of the unexpired term; but we will reject, as surplusage^ 
all that portion of the writ which relates to the time for which 
the election was to be holden, and then it will appear as if the 
Governor issued a writ for tlie whole vacancy, thougl) we know, 
in point of fact, that he did not. The writ orders an election 
for three months only, but, by rejecting a portion as surplus- 
age, we shall liave two years left. Like the leaves of the Sibyl, 
the writ will grow in value as it dinnnishes in quantity: the 
more we take from it, the larger it will become ; and by lessen- 
ing it one-half we increase it fourfold. Truly, had these gentle- 
men lived in ancient times, they would have puzzled tiie Sphinx 
with their riddles, and the scholars with their logic. They have 
performed a miracle greater than that which illustrates the 
history of the widow's cruse. The widow continually used of 
the oil, and yet the cruse always remained full; these 
gentlemen, by using from the Governor's writ, not only do not 
diminish it, Uit enlarge its abundance. 

But what is this doctrine of surplusage? Surplusage, in legal 
definition, as well as in corainon parlance, means a superfluity — 
more than enough. Now, the writ in this case does not con- 
tain any superfluity..of substance or meaning; the defect com- 
plained of is, that it does not contain enough. The substance 
of the mandate i-s an election for three months, when, as gen- 
tlemen contend, it should have been for two years. There is 
clearly, then, nothing of surplu>age in the substance of the writ. 
If there are more words than are necessary to c(»nvey the 
substance of the mandate, it would constitute a verbal surplus- 
age, and such unnecessary words might be rejected. This, 



310 MEMOIR OF S. S. PEENTIS3. 

however, is not the case. The words rejected by the committee 
as sm-phisage, form a component and essential part of the man- 
date. It is manifest that there is no superfluous substance to 
reject ; for the complaiut arises from a deficiency, and I know 
of no rule by which, in the construction of an instrument, you 
can reject words, as surplusage, which form an essential part of 
the meaning ; when, by such rejection, you change entirely the 
substance and character of the document. Gentlemen say that 
the Governor had no right to limit the term of service. The 
conclusion, then, is, that he has issued an unconstitutional man- 
date. If so, it is void. What right have you to construe an 
unconstitutional act into a constitutional one, in violation of the 
admitted intent and express meaning of the actor ? 

You say the Governor had the authority to issue a writ of 
election for the whole unexpired term. Very well. The 
answer is, and it seems to me a satisfactory one, he has not 
done it. Suppose he had issued no writ at all : could you have 
rejected his neglect as surplusage, and sustained an election held 
without any executive mandate ? It seems to me you could do it 
with as much propriety as you can sustain an election for two years 
under a writ ordering one for three months. If by construction 
eighteen months can be forced into a writ, against its admitted 
meaning, I see no reason why the whole writ may not be created 
by construction. It is perfectly obvious that, whether the 
Governor had or had not the power of ordering an election for 
the whole unexpired term of the twenty-fifth Congress, he has 
never exercised or attempted to exercise such power, and it 
would be a monstrous doctrine to assert that, constructively, he 
did what you admit, in point of fact, he did not do. 

From these considerations, as well as from the position which 
I have endeavored to demonstrate, that the Governor had no 
constitutional authority to order an election in July, I conie to 
the conclusion embraced in my first general proposition, to wit : 
"that the election in July last, under which the sitting members 
claim their seats, was unconstitutional, null, and void." 

This brings me to the second proposition, that the election 
in July, if good for anything, was good only for the period 



SPEECH. 311 

anterior to the general election. I shall say but little upon this 
point, inasmuch as most of the principles applicable to it have 
been already discussed in the previous argument. I am decidedly 
of opinion that there was no vacancy whatever, within the 
meaning of the second section of the first article. But, if there 
was, what was its extent? It seems to have been taken for 
granted that it must necessarily be the whole of the unexpired 
term. Upon what principle, however, has this conclusion been 
adopted ? 

The Constitution does not define a vacancy; and the very 
reasoning by which gentlemen arrive at the conclusion, that 
there was in July a vacancy within the executive jurisdiction, 
would Hmit its extent to the regular iN'ovember election. 

The reasoning which sustains the power of the Governor, is 
based upon tlie doctrine of necessity, and upon the supposed 
constitutional intention of authorizing provision by the executive 
writ, for any failure of legislative action. This is the ground 
taken by my opponents. Admitting its truth, then, the fair 
measure of the executive power will be the deficiency of legislative 
action. Now, the deficiency of legislative action extends only 
from the dth of March to the first Monday in November. After 
that, ample constitutional legislation embraces the subject, and 
fully relieves it from any further necessity for executive assistance. 
By extending the power of the Governor beyond the time for the 
general election, you carry it further than your own construction 
of the Constitution warrants, and make it trench upon and overrun 
the admitted constitutional action of the State legislature. From 
the arguments and upon the views of my opponents themselves, 
I should feel compelled to define the meaning of the word vacancy^ 
as used in the second section of the first article, to be "that 
portion of the ofiice the filling of which is unprovided for by 
constitutional legislation." Neither necessity, convenience, nor 
legitimate construction, can extend the definition. If it be 
correct, then there was a vacancy unprovided for by law, 
extending from the 4th of March to the time of the general elec- 
tion in November, and the Governor's writ was in exact accord- 
ance with Ms constitutional power. The only provision in the 



312 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

Constitution, in relation to the term of service, is that contained 
in the second section, first article. "The House of Eepresentatives 
shall consist of members chosen every second year," &c. ISTow, 
this provision manifestly applies only to the general elections, 
and is simply a limitation of the power given to the State 
legislatures to fix the times, &c. Under this clause, the State 
legislatures are bound to provide for a general election every 
second year. The clause cannot have any application whatever 
to elections for filling vacancies. Members may be chosen to fill 
vacancies not only every second year, but every second month, 
should they happen so often. The assumption of my opponents, 
that a vacancy must necessarily extend to the whole unexpired 
Congress, is unsupported by any constitutional provision, and 
totally at war with the very principles upon which they base 
the Governor's vacancy-filling power. I come, from these con- 
siderations, to the conclusion, that, if there was a vacancy 
within the jurisdiction of the Grovernor, it extended to November 
only, when the regular legislative jurisdiction attached; and, 
consequently, that the election in July last, if good at all, was 
only valid for the period anterior to the general November elec- 
tion. This brings me to the third and last proposition with 
which I set out, viz : that, in November last, my colleague and 
myself were constitutionally and legally elected representatives 
from the State of Mississippi to the twenty-fifth Congress. If I 
have succeeded in demonstrating either of the first two proposi- 
tions, this one will follow as a matter of course. The Constitu- 
tion of the United States authorized the legislature of Mississippi 
to fix the time, places, and manner of elections for Congress. I 
have already endeavored to show that the Legislature did, in the 
constitutional exercise of that authority, prescribe the time, 
places, and manner; and that, under and in pursuance of all 
those regulations, my colleague and m3'self were elected, on the 
first Monday, and day following, of November last. Of all this 
the House has ample evidence, through the official organs of the 
State. Tliere is no controversy as to the result of the election. 

The House judges of the election, qualifications, and returns. 
Was there any defect in the election ? If so, point it out. Was 



SPEECH. 313 

it not conducted in full accordance with the Constitution of the 
United States, and the constitution and laws of the State of 
Mississippi ? If not, show the variance. "Well, then, the election 
was a valid one. 

On the score of qualification, is there any objection? None; 
no one doubts or denies the qualifications of my colleague and 
myself. Of the returns, are they not legal and satisfactory ? Not 
a whisper has been breathed to the contrary. Upon which 
branch of its jurisdiction will the House base an objection; 
upon election, qualification, or return? If no valid objection 
arises out of either of these three points, then we are entitled to 
seats ; for beyond those three points the jurisdiction of the 
House does not extend. 

If the July election was void, or extended only to the Novem- 
ber election, then the latter election must inevitably be sus- 
tained, unless there is something averred and proven to vitiate 
it. It stands, otherwise, upon the same footing with the general 
elections of the other States which have occurred since the 4th 
of March. There can be no sort of doubt that one of the said 
elections in Mississippi was constitutional and valid ; and I pre- 
sume no one will advance the absurdity, that an unconstitutional 
and void election can vitiate a constitutional and valid election. 

I have now done with the argument of this matter. It is for 
the grave judges around me to say whether I have established 
any of my propositions. I have detained the House, in this 
opening of the cause, longer, perhaps, than its patience would 
warrant. But ample excuse, I trust, may be found in the mag- 
nitude of the principles involved, and th« inexperience of the 
humble individual to whom their illustration has been com- 
mitted. I have performed my duty ; it now devolves upon you 
to perform yours. In the performance of th-at duty, let me tell 
you, sir, no ordinary responsibility rests upon you. The eyes of 
the nation are directed to your action, with an anxiety commen- 
surate with the importance of the subject to be aflfected by your 
decision. That subject is no less than the right of representa- 
tion, the elective franchise, the Promethean spark which imparts 
life and soul to oiir whole political system ; without which, all 

14 



814 MEMOIR OF S, S. PRENTISS. 

oar institutions are but inanimate things ; dull, cold, and sense- 
less statues. In 3'our situation, even good intention will not 
justify error. At your hands the American people will require 
a strict account of that Constitution of which you are appointed 
guardians, and over whose most vital part a fatal stab is now 
impending. You cannot respond, as did the first fratricide, 
" W7i0 made me the l^eeper of my trother Abel F" To you is 
entrusted the keeping of the Constitution ; see that you rob it 
]iot of its richest treasure. 

i advance here no personal claim ; it is the claim of one of the 
sovereign States of this Confederacy which I advocate ; her 
claim to the right of choosing her own Kepresentatives, accord- 
ing to her own constitutional laws. "Will you deny her tliis 
right? "Will you rend the brightest and the strongest link in 
the golden chain of Union? 

Sir, if you persist in denyiag to ^M^ississippi that right to which 
she is entitled in common with every other State, you inflict 
upon her a wound which no medicine can heal. If you are 
determined to impose upon her a representation not of her 
choice, and against- her will, go on, and complete the work of 
degradation; send her a proconsul for a Governor, and make 
taskmasters to rule over her. 

Let her no longer sit with jovl^ a young and fair member of'this 
proud sisterhood ; but strip off the robes of equality, and make ■ 
of her a handmaid and a servant. 

Better, far better, had she never emerged from the chrysalis 
condition of a Territory, to wear the gaudy honors and butter- 
fly wings of a State, if you can thus, with your mere touch, 
brush her brightest tints awav. 

Sir, you may think it an easy and a trifling matter to deprive 
Mississippi of her elective franchise; for she is young, and may 
not, perchance, have the power to resist ; but I am much mis- 
taken in the character of her chivalrous citizens, if you do not 
find that she not only understands her rights, but has both the 
will and the power to vindicate them. You may yet find, to 
3'Our sorrow, that you have grasped a scorpion, where you 
thought you were only crusliing a worm. This. House would as 



SPEECH. 315 

soon put its head in a lion's mouth, as take the course which is 
threatened, to^vards the elder and more powerful States. And 
how happens it, tTtat Representatives of the States wliich have 
always been the readiest in the assertion of their own rights, 
should now be most zealous in trampling upon the rights of 
Mississippi ? What has she done, that she should be selected as 
a victim ? IsTo State is or has ever been more ardently 
attached to the Union ; and if she is placed beyond its pale, it 
will be your fault, and not her own. Sir, if you consummate this 
usurpation, you degrade the State of Mississippi : and if she sub- 
mits, never again can she wear the lofty l(.)ok of conscious 
independence. Burning shame will set its seal upon her brow ; 
and when her proud sons travel in other lands, tiiey will blush 
at the history of her dishonor, as it falls from the sneering hp 
of the stranger. Sir, place her not in that terrible and trying 
position, in which her love for this glorious Union will be found 
at war with her own honor, and the paramount obligation 
which binds her to transmit to the next generation, untarnished 
and undiminished, her portion of that rich legacy of the Revolu- 
tion, which was bought with blood, and which should never be 
parted with for a price less^ than what it cost. Is there a State 
in thitj Union that would part with it ; that would submit 
to have her Representatives chosen by this House, and forced 
upon her against her will ? Come ! what says the Bay 
State — time-honored MasmcliuseLis ? From the cradle in which 
young Liberty was first rocked, even from old Fancuil Ilall, 
comes forth her ready answer, and, before it dies away, again 
it is repeated from Bunker Hill : " It was for this very right 
of representation our fathers fought the battles of the Revo- 
lution, and ere we will surrender this dear-bought right, those 
battles shall again become dread realities." Would Kentucky 
submit? Ask her, Mr. Speaker, and her Mammoth cavern 
will find a voice to thunder in your ear her stern response: 
" ITo ; sooner than submit to sucli an outrage, our soil shall be 
re-baptized with a new claim to tlie proud but melancholy title 
of the darlv and tloody ground:- And wliat says Virginia, 
with her high device — her ^'- sic semper tyrannis^'' the loftiest 



316 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

motto that ever blazed upon a warrior's shield or a nation's 
arms? Howwoiild she brook such usurpation? TVhat says the 
mother of States and State Eight doctrines ; she who has 
placed instruction as a guardian over representation ; what says 
she to tlie proposition that this House can make Representatives, 
an'd force them upon a State in violation of its choice and will? 
And where is South Carolina, the Harry Percy of the Union? 
On which side in this great controversy does she couch her 
lance and draw her • blade ? I trust, upon the side of her 
sister State; upon the side, too, of the constitutional rights of all 
the States; and let her lend the full strength of her good right 
arm to the blow, when -he strikes in so righteous a quarrel. 

Upon all the States I do most solemnly call, for that justice to 
another, which they would expect for themselves. Let this cup 
pass from Mississippi. Compel her not to drink its bitter 
ingredients, lest,- some day, even-handed justice should "com- 
mend the poisoned chalice " to your own lips. Rescind that reso- 
lution, which presses like a foul incubus upon the Constitution. 
You sit here, twenty-five sovereign States, in judgment upon 
the'most sacred right of a sister State; that which is to a State 
what chastity is to a woman, or honor to a man. Should you 
decide against her, you tear fi'om her bro"^ the richest jewel 
which sparkles there, and forever bow her head in shame and 
dishonor. But, if your determination is taken ; if the blow 
must fall; if the violated Constitution must bleed; I have btit 
one request, on her behalf, to make. When you decide that she 
cannot choose her own representation, at that self-same moment 
blot from the spangled banner of this Union the bright star that 
glitters to the name of Mississiiiin^ but leave the'^sir/p^ behind, 
a fit emblem of her degradation. 

The reader can hardly fail to have observed, in reading 
this argument, how well Mr. Prentiss was prepared for it 
by his speeches in the Legislature of Mississippi, the pre- 
vious winter, upon the question of admitting the New 
County Delegation. Some of the main points, involved in 
the two cases, were identical. 



ADDRESS. 



an 



CHAPTER XII. 

Addre==s to the People of Mississippi-Return to Vicksburg-Second Canvass of 
the State-Reminiscences of it-Speech at Natchez-Anecdotes illustrating the 
Effect of his Eloquence-His own Account of Scenes with a Menagerie-Result of 
the Election-Address to a Jury-Letters-Return to Washington-Claims his 
Seat under the November Certificate of Election-Characteristic Incident men- 
tioned by Mr. Word-Speech on the Sub-Treasury Bill-Letters-Speech on 
Small Note Bill— North and South. 

JEt. 29.— 1838. 

Before leaving Washington, Mr. Prentiss issued a spirit- 
ed Address to the People of Mississippi, of which the fol- 
lowing passages contain the substance : — 

FELLOW-CiTizENS-In November last, you elected me one of 
your Representative to the 25th Congress, by much the largest 
vote ever polled for that office in the State. The election was 
holden, as you well know, at the time, places, and in the manner 
prescribed by your laws, which laws were enacted by your Le- 
gislature, under the express authority of the Constitution of the 
United States. Immediately upon ascertaining the result of that 
election, I received from the Governor credentials, in pursnance 
of law, and repaired, with all convenient speed, to the Federal 
city. I presented my credentials to the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, and demanded to be sworn in as a member Ibe 
Speaker refused; aud I was told that the seats belonging to the 
State of Mississippi were already filled. On examinat^n, I foand 
them occupied by Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson. Tou proba- 
bly recoUect that, in July last, you selected those gentlemen to 



318 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

serve you until superseded by such persons as you might select, 
at the general election in November. On presenting my power 
of attorney from you, dispensing with their farther service, and 
substituting myself and colleague in their places, they utterly re- 
fused to obey, and set your mandate at open defiance. Indeed 
they had previously asserted, upon the floor of the House, that you 
had elected them for the whole of the 25th Congress ; that they 
had been candidates for the whole term, and that you so under- 
stand it. Tlrey demanded and obtained, at the special session, by 
a re.^olution introduced by themselves, a decision that they were 
duly elected to the whole 25th Congress ; and relying upon this 
decision, they objected, both before the Committee and the House, 
to any examination into the question whether you did, in reality, 
intend to elect them for a longer period than the special session; 
thus basing their claims to seats, not upon your wiJl, but upon a 
decision of the House of Representatives, procured at their own 
instigation, upon an ex, 'parte examination of the case, and with- 
out the production of any legal credentials or certificate of elec- 
tion whatever. Finding the attitude in which the matter stood, 
I proceeded at once to attack the decision of the House, as uncon- 
stitutional, ex parte^ and founded upon palpable mistake. I took 
the ground that whatever might be the validity of the July elec- 
.tion, it was not intended to supersede, nor could it constitution- 
ally supersede, the regular election in I^Tovember, and that the 
constitutional rights of the people of Mississippi were beyond the 
control of the House of Representatives. I denied the power of 
one branch of the Federal Leoiislature to nullifv the admitted con- 
stitutional law of the State of Mississippi, fixing the time for the 
election of her Representatives to Congress. I openly denied, 
on your behalf, any intention of surrendering your constitutional 
right of choosing your Representatives at the time, places, and 
in the manner prescribed by your laws. After a most severe 
and memorable contest, in which every art and effort was ex- 
hausted, for the purpose of sustaining Messi-s. Claiborne and 
Gholson in their usurped places, the House solemnly decided that 
they were nut entitled to seats, as the Representatives of the 
State of Mississippi, on the express ground that the July election 
was unconstitutional and void. 



ADDRESS. 319 

So far the House of Representatives honorably rectified an 
acknowledged error into which they had fallen ; and sustained 
you against the attack which had been made by Messrs. Clai- 
borne and Gholson upon your most sacred constitutional rights, 
and these gentlemen were justly turned out of the seats to which 
they had clung with such desperate tenacity. I would, for the 
honor of the American nation, I could stop here. Iso sooner, 
however, had the House decided that the July election was void, 
because ilTovember was the only time at which an election could 
be valid, than they turned around and again decided that the 
November election was void, because of the error into which the 
House had fallen. 

The highest political right which appertains to you was 
suspended, and the State of Mississippi totally disfranchised, not 
by any fault of her own, but through the acknowledged ignorance 
of the House. "While the House was in error, you could not 
exercise your rights ; and a simple resolution of the Federal House 
of Representatives, by this decision, is sufficient, at any time, not 
only to modify, but destroy, the right of representation of any or 
every State in the Union. ITo one denied that, in pursuance of 
the law and the constitution, you had elected me as your 
representative. It was your right to elect anybody that was 
denied. It was decided that your election in July was void, on 
account of the JSTovember ele<;tion, and that the IsTovember elec- 
tion was void, on account of the erroneous decision of the House 
in favor of the July election. Thus, at a period when, of all 
others, your interests most require attention, and questions of 
vital importance are agitating the country, you are juggled out 
of your whole right of representation in the popular branch of 
the National Legislature, and the reason assigned is, that the 
blunders of the House of Representatives are constitutional laws, 
and paramount to the admitted constitutional laws of the States, 
and of force sufficient to annul the same. Doctrines so federal 
were never before advanced in this government ; and if they be 
correct, then is the House of Representatives a despot, and the 
rights of the States exist only in imagination. If such doctrines 
are correct, what prevents Congress from declaring itself per- 



320 ilEilOIE OF 3. S. Pr.EXTISS. 

petual— a rump parliament — aud then asserting, as they have in 
the present instance, that so long as that decision remains 
unrescinded, the constitutional power of the States to hold their 
regular elections is suspended, and their laws nullified ? 

Upon the question of the validity of the November election, 
the vote stood at a tie, and the Speaker had the glorious infamy 
of deciding it against you. A single representative from another 
State exercised the power of denying your right to any repre- 
sentation, and the still, small voice of James K. Polk deprived 
you of that which a hundred thousand bayonets could not have 
forced from you. 

I wish you distinctly to understand that your Q^igJit of election^ 
either in July or November, has been solemnly denied and 
repudiated. I told the House that you would not submit quietly 
to have your elective franchise trodden beneath the iron heel of 
federal despotism, and that there was no possession you would 
not sooner part with than your right of representation, that 
great legacy of the Eevolution. Was I right or wrong in thus 
speaking for you? Whether right or wrong, I spoke my own 
sentiments when I denounced, as I did, the action of the House 
as a plain and palpable violation of the Constitution — a foul, high- 
handed and tyrannical usurpation. I looked with scorn and 
derision upon the juggling and hypocritical pretence of sending 
the election back for the purpose of ascertaining your wishes, 
when you had spoken, through all your legal and constitutional 
forms, in a voice which an idiot could not fail to have under- 
stood. The House has decided that both your election in July 
and November are void ; and yet they permit the representative 
from Arkansas to hold his seat under two elections precisely 
parallel. 

I tell you candidly and honestly my own opinion of the whole 
transaction, and I have been a close and attentive observer. I be- 
lieve you have been basely defrauded of your elective franchise, 
simply because you did not choose, in exercising it, to consult the 
political taste and complexion of the majority in the House. It 
is for you to say whether you will bow in submission to the rod. 
and sacrifice your great and sacred rights at the shrine of party 



ADDRESS. 321 

dictation, or whether you will assert your riglit, free and untram- 
melled, to elect whom you please as your representatives. 

The true contest now is, whether you or the House of Repre- 
sentatives shall designate the individuals who shall serve you in 
that body. To the honorable and highniinded of all political 
parties, I appeal for a dignified and determined assertion of the 
right of election. Believing as I do, before Heaven, that I am 
your constitutional representative, in spite of the tyrannical and 
arbitrary action of the House ; and believing, too, that the honor 
and character of the citizens of Mississippi are deeply involved 
in the action which they may take in relation to this matter, I 
have deemed it my duty to address to you some account of the 
result of the high errand upon which you sent me. I regret that 
my task has been but half accomplished. The usurpers have 
been driven from the Capitol; but your representatives have 
been denied admittance. To the best of my humble ability, I 
have obeyed your high behest. It now devolves upon you to 
assert, in such manner as honor and duty may dictate, your 
violated rights. 

On his return home, the citizens of Maysville and Louis- 
ville tendered him a public dinner ; but in both instances 
he modestly declined the compliment. " Defeated as I have 
been, in the high errand upon which I was sent, I feel that 
it would hardly be proper for me to tarry by the way and 
partake of those honors and rewards, which belong rather 
to the victor than the vanquished." 

The citizens of Yicksburg had long been upon the look- 
out for him, and, on the night of his arrival, welcomed him 
with repeated rounds of cannon. A friend, writing under 
date of March 16, 1838, says: "Your brother was 
received with shouts and congratulations, and demonstra- 
tions of joy which burst all bounds. His reception must 
have been to him a source of most gratifying pride. A 
public dinner has been given to him since his return, and I 

14* 



322 MEMOIR OF S, S. PRENTISS. 

listened to liis speech v/ith a higher and more exalted admi- 
ration for his talents than ever. He is a great man, and 
I am proud of being his friend." 

His first intention, upon being rejected, was to resign his 
seat, to which he conceived himself to be still entitled, 
and abandon the contest. But a sense of public duty 
and the entreaties of his friends overruled this purpose. 
He even consented to the toil of another canvass, though 
very much against his will, as appears from the following 
letters : — 



TO niS YOUNGEST BEOTHEE. 

VicKSBCRG, J!/arcA16, 1S38. 

J3eae Geoege : — 

I got home three days since, after a most tedious and 
annoying trip. I had to come all the way to Louisville by stage, 
the river being entirely ch)sed with ice. My health, however, was 
good; and I met with no accident, saving an overturn, which 
proved entirely harmless. I was right glad to get here, for my 
business has suffered sadly by my absence and inattention, since 
I was silly enough to engage in politics. Indeed, but for my 
sense of duty, I should immediately withdraw. I feel bound, 
however, to permit the people to assert their rights through me, 
if they choose to do so. An election is ordered on the fourth 
Monday in April ; and I have very reluctantly allowed my name 
to be used, with the distinct avowal, however, that I do not re- 
cognize the election as constitutional, but merely as an expression 
of the opinion of the citizens — and that if I have a majority, I 
shall claim my seat again, under the November election. I. have 
also determined, though I have not avowed it, to resign so soon 
as I get my seat, even if re-elected, and to quit politics for ever 
and aye. But I deem it extremely doubtful whether I shall be 
sustained by a majority of the people ; for I do not intend to 
canvass the State, while my opponents Avill do so and make the 
most desperate exertions. I am indifferent as to the result. My 



LETTERS. 32 



o 



friends here are all well, and mncli gratified at my debut in 
Congress. 

March IT. 

I have nothing new to tell you. Considerable excitement 
prevails in the river counties upon the decision of the election 
case; but, generally speaking, the people will vote upon party- 
grounds alone, and I am strongly inclined to believe that the 
State is administration. Did I feel disposed to canvass, I doubt 
not I could again get a majority ; but as I don't intend to do 
so, I shall not be surprised if the Vanites succeed. For my part, 
I am heartily sick of being alternately praised, abused and behed. 
I am as thoroughly cured of ambition as were the Spartan youths 
of drunkenness, by viewing the effect in others. I am annoyed 
to death by my friends, who urge me to go out among the peo- 
ple, and who seem to use all the exertions I have made only as 
arguments for more. As soon as I get a little leisure, I will 
wTite you fully of my views and feelings upon this matter. At 
present, business of all sorts, which has accumulated during the 
winter, distracts my attention, and hardly affords me time to 
write this letter. So good-bye, and don't turn poUtician. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 



TO niS SISTEE ANNA. 

ViCKSBURG, March 25, 1S3S. 

My Deae, Sweet Sistee :— 

I sat down a week ago, with my pen all nibbed (I 
don't know whether there is such a word) to write you a letter, 
when the puffing of a steamboat compelled me to forego the 
pleasant occupation, and travel forthwith to iTatchez, in obedi- 
ence to the calls of business. I have just returned from that 
place, and shall proceed at once to make both the apology 
and the reparation for the wrong I have done you. I had 
been at home only two or three days, and was waiting to 
furnish you with the hQ^t politiailinformation as to the state 
of things here (presuming that you have become a violent poli- 



324 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

tician), when I was so suddenly called away. I did not leave 
Washington City so soon by a week or ten days as I expected to 
do, and I had a tedious and most uncomfortable trip home; 
all the way to Louisville by stage, on account of the ice, 
which obstructed the Ohio. My health, however, was and still 
is admirable. Indeed, I believe I have a constitution of steel ; 
nothing seems to aftect it. I had determined, on my return, to 
have nothing to do with the election, and to resign the right to 
which, I conceive, I am still entitled, as the Representative of 
the State, notwithstanding the outrageous act of the House of 
Eepresentatives. I found that the Governor had ordered a new 
election, and the people were determined to express, at that 
election, their opinions in relation to the action of Congress. 
Contrary to my wishes, I have been compelled by the solicita- 
tions of my personal and political friends, to permit my name to 
be run, not for a re-election, but for the purpose of ascertaining 
whether the people will sustain the previous election. I have 
distinctly stated to them, that I consider myself still their Repre- 
sentative, and that if a majority of them sustain me at the April 
election, I will again go on and claim my seat under the old 
November certificate; but if I do not receive a majority of the 
votes, I will resign, because 1 scorn to vindicate the rights of 
those who have not independence enough to wish it done for 
them. Indeed, so disgusted have I become with politics and 
everything connected with them, that I shall feel rather pleased 
than otherwise at my defeat. So far as I have seen, however, 
everything indicates a favorable result. I was received here 
with the most unbounded enthusiasm; and also at Natchez, 
where I addressed one of the largest audiences ever convened in 
the State, among whom were some fifty ladies of the aristocracy, 
who did your humble servant the honor to sit two hours in the 
open, public square, listening to his political eloquence. I shall 
never be a candidate again ; and as soon as this matter is fairly 
finished, shall so announce it, for I have the utmost disgust for 
politics and politicians as they now exist. I shall have to visit, 
contrary to my wishes, some of the interior counties of the State, 
and shall start the last of this week. I shall be gone about three 



HIS SECOND CANVASS. 325 

■weeks. If I do not go on to Washington City, I shall come 
home in June. "What a delightful time we shall have this sum- 
mer! and how fondly and gladly shall I turn from the noisy 
commendations of strangers, wliich have been for two or three 
months dinning in my ears, to the warm, sweet and genuine 
.iffections of my mother and sisters ! Indeed, I love you all, if 
possible, more than ever, and wish to return among you, like a 
bird to its nest. Let me hear fi-om you very often, and espe- 
cially of your health, about which I am extremely anxious. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 

It is to be regretted that no adequate record of Mr. 
Prentiss' various electioneering campaigns through Missis- 
sippi has been preserved. Such a narrative, especially if 
accompanied by suitable pictorial embellishments, would be 
highly amusing as well as instructive. Probably few men 
of his age ever performed such feats in stump-speaking. 
The mere physical exertions put forth in his first canvass 
alone, were enough to break down a constitution not made 
of iron. His second canvass, though shorter, was still more 
exciting and toilsome than the first ; coming, too, upon the 
heels of such exhausting labors at Washington, it is a 
wonder that he did not sink under it. But in those days 
his recuperative energies of body and mind were amazing. 
A single night of sleep sufficed to overcome the fatigues of 
a month ; instead of rising still weary and unrefreshed, 
he would come forth like the sun, and rejoice as a, strong 
man to run a race. Nothing seemed to obstruct the 
springs of life, or to check the joyous flow of his wit 
and fine animal spirits. And yet at this very time he 
was, no doubt, planting in his system the seeds of disease 
and an untimely death. Such prodigious over-exertion is 
sure to avenge itself sooner or later. 



326 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

The following remiuiscences of this second canvass, will 
give some notion of its stirring character : — 

I heartily wish I could depict, in the exact colors of truth, Mr. 
Peextiss' return from "Washington, and the storm of applause 
wdiich everywhere met him. The citizens of Mississippi, it 
may well be supposed, had watched with no ordinary interest 
the progress of their Contested Election through the House 
' of Representatives. At that time party feeling ran very high both 
at Washington and throughout the country. The conflict between 
Van Burenism and the patriotic Opposition, led on by Henry 
Clay and Daniel "Webster, was becoming every day more close 
and deadly. The course, therefore, of a single State, although 
sending but two Eepresentatives, was a matter of vital import- 
ance : it might turn the edge of battle. This circumstance will 
go far to explain how a case so clear as that of the Mississippi 
election, should yet have occupied the attention of the House 
of Representatives for nearly three weeks. The decision in 
October, declaring Messrs. Claiborne and Gholson entitled to 
their seats for the whole 25th Congress, had excited the 
astonishment not only of the "Whigs but of not a few Demo- 
crats. The determination of those gentlemen to retain their 
seats after the November election, changed astonishment into 
strong indignation. It was looked upon as open defiance of 
the popular will, and a gross indignity to the constitution, laws, 
and honor of the State.* But in addition to the principle in- 
volved, the gallant style in which the rights of Mississippi had 
been vindicated by Mr. Peextiss, and the loud plaudits in his 

* The moment, for example, intelligence reached Jackson that Messrs. Prentiss 
and Word had been denied admittance, a lai'ge public meeting, without distinction 
of party, was held to consider the subject. Gen. Foote, Mr. P.'s old antagonist, 
was appointed chairman, and a series of resolutions were passed — of which this is 
one : — 

" Besolvecl, That the vote of the People of the State of Mississippi in the last 
November election, clearly indicates that Messrs. Prentiss and Word are our legally 
elected Representatives ; and that any effort on the part of Messrs. Claiborne and 
Gholson to deprive them of their seats, is at war with the wishes of the people — 
directly opposed to their interests — an open violation of popular rights, and destruc- 
tive of the elective franchise." 



ADDRESS AT NATCHEZ. 32t 

honor, which were reverberating through the nation, reacted 
with irresistible force upon public sentiment at home. "When 
the opinion of liis old friends was endorsed and re-affirmed by 
such orators and statesmen as Cla}*, "Webster, White, and Crit- 
tenden, it seemed to redouble their own estimate of him, while 
it for ever put to blush the foolish charge of his adversaries, that 
he was but a mere declaimer, a man of show and not of sub- 
stance. It were hard to say whether the feeling with which he 
was hailed on reaching Mississippi, liad in it more of pride, admi- 
ration, or personal regard ; it was full of all three. 

His first address to the people was at Vicksburg — at a meet- 
ing of both parties, and presided over by the Hon. "Wm. L. Shar- 
key, Chief Justice of the State. He next visited Natchez, and 
made an address, which is remembered to this day for its noble 
sentiments and the manly dignity, force and beauty of style with 
w^hicli they were uttered. 

The speech was noticed at the time by Mr. Black, the 
excellent gentleman who then edited the Natchez Courier: — 

Our city yesterday witnessed the greatest assemblage prob- 
ably ever convened in this State. Long before the appointed 
liour the spacious Hall of the Court-House was crowded with 
anxious expectants. The ladies of the city and county accepted 
the proffered invitation, and were there to grace the assemblage 
with their presence, and with their approving smiles to cheer 
the orator onward in his glorious career. Before the time of 
meeting arrived it was found that the Hall would not accommo- 
date the vast concourse of people that was assembling. Ac- 
cordingly, the committee of arrangement, with commendable 
alacrity, prepared accommodations for the audience in the Pub- 
lic Square, in the rear of the Court-House. Seats were arranged 
for the ladies on the right and left of tlie speaker's stand. Our 
population, even from the most distant parts of the county, 
seemed to have turned out en masse ^ without regard to party or 
profession. "We noticed in the throng the hoary-headed veteran, 
the clergy, and those who seldom or never mingle in the noise and 
tumult of party-strife. The high expectations of all were more 



328 MEMOIR OF S, S. PRENTISS. 

than fully realized. For nearly two hours did the orator excite 
the fixed attention of his auditory. Description is inadequate to 
give a proper idea of his powers and of the sway he exercises 
over the minds of his hearers. 

Brief pencil notes of Mr. P.'s address were taken by a 
' young gentleman, while standing in the crowd ; and though 
only a rude outline, they yet afford an inkling of its charac- 
ter. A few sentences deserve to be quoted : — 

Fellow Citizexs: — A great king of France one remarked, 
after a defeat in battle, " all is lost save honor." Such may 
well be the exclamation of the people of Mississippi at the 
present crisis — all is lost saye hoxoe. 

Not many months since, you are all aware, an election took 
place in this State, for Eepresentatives in the Congress of the 
United States, and I, as one of the candidates for that high 
mission, addressed you on the great political questions agitating 
the country. 

I now appear before you in another view and on other 
grounds. I do not ask the support, or vote, of any of my fellow 
citizens of this State, either on account of their personal friend- 
ship for me, or because they belong to the same political party, 
with whose views I have generally coincided. I come before 
you as the advocate of a high constitutional principle — a princi- 
ple before which all the little political quarrels of the day sink 
into utter insignificance, the great principle of representation. 

I believe I am one of the Eepresentatives to Congress from 
Mississippi — a Representative not merely of my political friends, 
but of every man, woman and child in the State ; for the num- 
ber, who did not vote for me at the polls were, after my elec- 
tion, equally bound with the larger number, who did vote for 
me, to support the laws and constitution of the State, and to 
defend their right of representation. 

However some of you may difier with me on certain ques- 
tions, I trust, fellow-citizens, you all will give me credit for 
candor in my political course. I am anxious that none should 



ADDRES3 AT NATCHEZ. 329 

be in error regarding ray views. I wish to leave no room for 
raisappreljension, or misrepresentation; and to such an extent 
do I carry this desire, that I would not receive a single vote 
which I believed to be given from a mistaken idea of my prin- 
ciples. 

This is neither the time nor the place for discussing party 
questions, nor am I before you for that purpose. But as it has 
been said that I am anxious to assume new grounds in view of 
the April election, I will refer jou to the unreserved expression 
of my opinions as I addressed them to you before the November 
election, and remark that they are unchanged, unmitigated in 
every respect. If any difference exists, it is that I am still 
firmer in my devotion to them. 

I return to you, a messenger who has not been able to execute 
his trust. If you had sent in November, as Kepresentatives to 
Congress, two good " Democrats^'' as they are called, not the 
slightest breath from that House would have impeded their 
admission. But you dared to send men of your own independ- 
ent choice, without consulting the presiding powers at the 
Capitol, and on that account are defrauded of the treasure of all 
others, most dear to an American citizen. 

That is the real cause why my colleague and myself failed in 
our errand. The proud position which we held as the defenders 
of your constitutional rights, impelled us to the performance of 
our task with unbounded zeal ; if there was any deficiency in 
maintaining those rights, want of ability, not of perseverance, was 
the cause. I, for ray part, have done all I could do to urge 
the sanctity of your claims. It is for you now to act and send 
me to act for you. The contest is yours, not mine. I have no 
personal interest in it. The preservation of your riglits invio- 
late, and the support of your constitution and laws give me a 
stand elevated far above any private, selfish motive. For them 
I would shed the last drop of my blood. I only regret that 
when the attempt was made to fasten dishonor to your name, 
the Senators who represented you in the other wing of the 
Capitol, did not at once show their indignation at the act, 
and return home also. 



330 5IEM0IR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

But it was said at Washington, tliat if a new election Avere tc 
be held, Messrs. Gholson and Claiborne would receive a majority 
of 5,000 votes. This I found to be the opinion which one of your 
•Senators entertained and had circulated. It may be his opinion, 
but this is surely a curious way to decide a great constitutional 
question ; and "yet strange as it may appear, it was not without 
its influence. Rely upon it, chains have been forged for you at 
"Washington City, and it is expected you will put them on. Mis- 
sissippi is still free, but she is called on to do the work of her 
owii degradation. Will her proud spirit brook it ? 

I deny that the coming election is valid, — it cannot be under 
your Constitution ; and although a sense of honor forbids me to 
resign, I solemnly declare to you that if I am sent back, I will 
consent to be sworn only under the ISTovember certificate. I will 
not take my seat under any other election than that which is 
held in accordance with your Constitution and laws. 

Your sacred rights can be preserved inviolate, under no other 
election than that of ISTovember. If it be not your wish to main- 
tain the sanctity of those rights and give renewed evidence of 
the high importance with which you deem them invested, then 
will I assuredly retire. Against the expressed will of the ma- 
jority never will I urge my claims. If there be any among you 
willing tamely to submit to this humiliating deprivation of your 
Elective Franchise, or who think my colleague and myself were 
not constitutionally elected in ISTovember, I do not ask their 
votes, 

I reiterate, then, let every one that believes that Messrs. Clai- 
borne and Gholson were constitutionally elected to the 25th 
Congress in Jul}^ last, sustain them now. But if you, on the 
contrary, believe that in iRovember last Mr. Word and myself 
were constitutionally elected the Representatives of the State — 
the whole State and not of a party, you cannot now consistently 
refrain from sustaining us. If the People once elect an 
officer, all party considerations should be instantly lost sight of, 
and it becomes the duty of every citizen to acknowledge and 
defend him as such. It matters not whether that officer be an 
Administration man. Whig, ISTational Bank, State Bank, or Sub- 



ADDRESS AT NATCHEZ. 331 

Treasury advocate, all are alike boiuitl to maintain his riglits. 
Though our State Governor may be hostile to our political views, 
yet should some foreign power attempt to wrest from him those 
rights which pertain to his office, how soon would all parties 
rally to his rescue. I did not vote for him, but it is sufficient for 
me to know that the popular voice has made him our Governor. 

In this contest, I repeat it, I have no personal interest more 
than any other citizen. Did I not believe that the people them- 
selves would sustain me in the high and arduous contest for their 
rights and privileges, in which a sense of duty to them and their 
honor alone prompts me to continue, I would at once have re- 
signed; for so far hitherto as I have trodden the political path, 
I assure you experience has left me no desire to continue therein. 
My green ambition is fully satisfied ; a political life has no allure- 
ments for me. 

I always understood that constitutions were intended to guard 
against mnjorities, and restrain lawless acts, as embankments and 
levees are erected to prevent overflows of rising streams. Con- 
stitutional principles alone can I look to. If the people did not 
think I was constitutionally elected in ITovember, well — so let it 
be. But let us not submit to have our Constitution trampled 
under foot. This is the first instance in our history of legislative 
tyranny, and if we bow otir knees to it, we only pave the way 
for a second violation. 

I fear, fellow citizens, the fundamental principles of our 
Constitution are fast passing away. That Constitution is like 
the splendid edifices of some noble city, which looks as if it 
would bid defiance to the ravages of time, but there are cata- 
combs beneath it which are gradually undermining its strength 
and may soon engulph it in their caverns. Do we not every day 
see men lured away from some great principle to support a little 
party vote? Will you submit to have your representation 
played shuttlecock with, and bow to the errors of that arbi- 
trary monarch — the House of Eepresentatives ? 

The grand principles of our Constitution appear to us exalted 
beyond all contingencies — all innovations; but in this we do 
not repose on a wholesome security. The first instance in which 



332 ME'vrOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

Tve are called upon to assert the inviolability of these principles, 
■svill prove to us the estent of secret plotting which lias been working 
their deca}'. AYe shall find ourselves in the situation of a well- 
trained band of soldiers, who, supposing themselves beyond the 
reach of danger, are attacked by midnight marauders, and thrown 
into such confusion that they lose the benefit of their disci- 
pline, and fall a ready prey to destruction. 

The sacred right of representation is the most valuable we 
possess. If robbed of it. nothing can compensate us. You may 
gather all the principles which enter into the Constitution 
of our Government — make a clustering wreath of them, and 
what would the whole be worth compared to the countless 
blessings of representation ? 

Eeflect well on your position. Ko government has a right to 
surrender vital principles, and in this respect individuals and 
governments resemble each other. These principles are ours 
in trust, not to exchange and barter at our will: if they were 
intended merely for the present generation, then, indeed, we 
might surrender them with less dishonor ; but they are sacred 
rights, vested in as many generations as we can imagine, and 
which we ought not to surrender even at the point of the bayo- 
net. The framers of the great Constitution looked down the 
stream of Time and saw a thousand generations sitting upon its 
banks, all waiting for the rich legacy to be wafted to them, to 
use, but not abuse it, and then waft it on to others. 

"When looking into futurity, fellow-citizens, I contemplate 
the rising and rapidly developing glories of Mississippi, and 
behold the proud destiny opening before her, she seems like a rich 
bride reclining on the arms of the majestic Father of Waters ; 
and amongst her sister States the most beautiful of them all. 

But her honor is at stake ! If a young man commit some 
dishonorable action and tarnish his fair fame, no future years of 
amendment, however well spent, can eiTace the stain : as time 
rolls onward it may become dimmer and dimmer, but the finger 
of envy or the tongue of scandal will never permit it to be lost 
in oblivion. This State is now in the position of the young man. 
Let her look calmly on, and see her dearest rights torn from her, 



HIS SECOND CANVASS. 



r\fyf> 



without a murranr or a blow struck for her deliverance— let 
her slavishly submit to her oppressor's mandate, and an indelible 
stain will remain upon her to the latest generations. Let not 
party spirit recklessly affix this stigma upon her escutcheon, but 
let us all, in the united and invincible strength of freemen, rally 
to the support of the Constitution. 

I deprecate all excitement not belonging to the true question 
before the people. But I regret to see that one of the late mem- 
bers has not the same feelings. Having given up all other sub- 
jects he has taken to Abolitionism, and seems to wish this great 
constitutional question decided as Abolition or no Abolition. 
It is true he does not charge upon me, or any other individual. 
Abolition doctrines ; but what is the fair inference to be drawn 
from this parade of his anti- Abolition principles, in a question 
where there is not the shadow of an excuse for introducing 
them. I deprecate, with the utmost regret, this attempt to throw 

firebrands around us. 

And, now, in conclusion, I thank the fair portion of my 
hearers for the attention they have paid to the discussion of the 
important principles brought forward in this address. Upon the 
maintenance of these principles, so dearly prized by every lover 
of our civil institutions, tlieir happiness and interests depend. 
Yes I appeal to them also, and am confident they would see 
tho4 most dear to them— their husbands, sons, brothers, and 
their sweethearts-exposed to all the hazards of war, rather than 
that through inertness or want of the spirit of patriotism, they 
should shrink from a fearless and manful support of the Consti- 
tution. 

We now return to the reminiscences : 

In the spirit of his speech at iTatchez, Mr. Peentiss conducted 
the canvass throughout. One of his opponents made no 
speeches, but flitting through the State suJ) silentio, spent his 
time very dihgently in writing letters, issuing defences of his 
course, and trying to persuade the people of Mississippi that 
Mr. Clay was in close alliance with the Northern Abohtionists. 



34 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



Gen. James Davis (wlio took tlie i^lace of Mr. Gholson, tlie 
latter having declined running), canvassed the State, but, after 
one or two encounters with Mr. Peextiss, chose a different route 
from his antagonist. Mr. P. also broke a lance with other 
generals, and redoubtable leaders of the Administration party, 
while traversing the State — and were it worth the while, a 
whole chapter might be tilled with amusing scenes of mishap 
and overthrow wliich befell them. No man was rash enough 
to enter the lists against him in this contest without being 
smitten to the eartii. Some gentlemen, since noted in public 
life, could readily bear witness to this fact in their own persons ; 
and many are the citizens of Copiah and other counties, who 
could attest it as delighted spectators of the affray.* 

There is no end to the anecdotes ilhistrative of the power of 
his oratory. On one occasion, while he was speaking in his 
most fascinating manner, an old Democrat present became so 
charmed and excited, that, at tlie conclusion of the address, he 
walked towards him, and ripping his coat open behind, as he 
did so, cried out : " Well they may call me a turn-coat, if they 
choose; but I won't be that — I shall just 'baclc out of my coat, 
and vote for S. S. Prentiss and T. J. Word." 

iTumerous devices were resorted to by his opponents (such as 
the cry of Abolitionism against Mr. Clay), in order to divert the 
attention of the people from the real point at issue ; but it was 
all in vain. All in vain, too, were the affectionate messages 
from Wasliington, entreating the faithful Democracy not to 
allow Messrs. Prentiss and Word to be returned. After a can- 
vass of unparalleled energy on the part of the Administration 
forces, they were triumphantly sustained. I say " triumph- 

* In a letter dated Vicksburg, April 18, 183S, the friend already referred to, writes : 
" Your brother left liere the 1st day of April, with the intention of traversing the 
middle, eastern, and northern portions of the State. He is to-day in Pontotoc. I 
heard from him in Copiah, a strong Van Buren county, where the people were 
actually so proud of him and the stand he had tal^en, that after he had finished his 
speech, and they liad thundered their applause, thej- bore him aloft in the crowd 
on their shoulders to his hotel, shouting all the while — Ilurrali for Prentiss ! 
Prentiss for eter I Wherever he goes, shouts of applause, public dinners, the 
gratulations and admiration of friends and foes mark his progress. His election 
is looked upon hei'e as certain." — Ed. 



HIS SECOND CANVASS. 



335 



antly ;" for although Mr. Peentiss himself was rather mortified 
at the result, it was indeed, under the circumstances, a genuine 
victory of patriotism and the Constitution over mere party 
interests and selfish demagoffism. 

A few specimens of the returns of this election as compared 
with those of July and November, 1837, will perhaps intci-est 
you. Mr. Claiborne was the highest candidate on tlie other 
side. 

The aggregate vote Avas less than in ISToveniber : but at that 
.time, it should be remembered, the biennial State elections, as 
well as that for members of Congress, were held. At a special 
election, it is always extremely difiScult to call out a large class 
of the people ; so that in truth, the vote in April was a stronger 
expression of the popular sentiment than that of November. 





JULV, 


1837. 


Counties. 


rrentiss. 


Cl.iilx^ine. 


Adams. 


577 


210 


Madison. 


540 


8(51 


Hancock. 


22 


49 


Hinds. 


S:37 


595 


Lowndes. 


SG7 


549 


Newton. 


1 


112 


Tisheningo. 




3G4 


Warren. 


403 


ISl 


Chickasaw. 


16 


86 


Yalobuslia. 


1S2 


466 


Noxubee. 


254 


823 


Carroll. 


252 


SoO 



.NOviuiBEr., ISS". 
Prentiss. I Claiborne. 



CIO 

7ti9 

26 

1247 

437 

46 

31 

870 

24 

47S 

279 

549 



186 

104 
116 
123 

88 
354 
248 
5 
500 
3 
281 



AI'KIL 


, 1838. 


PrcntiBS. 


Clnibome. 


693 


299 


621 


279 


129 


22 


1107 


403 


C04 


532 


65 


13T 


57 


272 


773 


264 


45 


82 


507 


4GG 


851 


406 


500 


363 



These figures indicate better than any words could do, the 
effect of Mr. Peentiss' speeches and personal popularity upon 
the canvass.* 



* This period may be considered the golden prime of the genius of Peentiss. He 
had the whole State for his audience, the honor of the State for his subject. lie 
came well armed and well equipped for the warfare. Not content with challenging 
his competitors to the field, he threw down the gauntlet to all comers. Party, or 
ambition, or some other motive, constrained several gentlemen — famous before, 
notorious afterwards — to meet him. In every instance of such temerity, the opposer 
was made to bite the dust. 

The ladies surrounded the rostrum with their carriages, and added by their 
beauty, interest to the scene. There was no element of oratory that his genius did 



336 



MEMOIPw OF S. S. PKEXTI3S. 



It would bo unjust not to say, in tliis connection, that his 
colleague, Mr. Word, who was a gentleman of excellent charac- 
ter and abilities, contributed not a little to the successful issue. 

The utmost delight was felt at the result of this election, not 
only in Mississippi, but throughout the Union. No ca^e of the 
kind had ever excited such universal attention. The progress 
of the canvass ^vas watched with especial interest at "Washing- 
ton ; Mr. Peextiss' appearance there having attracted to him 
the warm affection of not a few, and the admiration of all the 
members of his party. His defeat would have been a personal 
disappointment to almost every Whig in the country, and not 
least to such men as Ola}', Crittenden, Preston, Southard, and 
the venerable Judge White, who were among his warmest 
admirers. 

The enthusiasm of his friends in Mississippi was unbounded. 
Their hearts had become so enhsted in the contest, that some of 
them were quite beside themselves with joy ; they almost saw 
the advent of a Whig millennium in the triumph of their favor- 
ite candidate. But, alas ! it was not long before the delusion 
vanished. Something very different from a Whig millenium, or 
even decenniura, awaited the politics of Mississippi! 



not supply. It was plain to see whence his boyhood had drawn its romantic 
inspiration. His imagination was colored and imbued with the light of the sha- 
dowy past, and was richly stored with the unreal but life-like creations, which the 
genius of Shakspeare and Scott had evoked from the ideal world. He had lin- 
gered, spell-bound, among the scenes of mediEeval chivalry. His spirit had dwelt, 
until almost naturalized, in the mystic dream-land they peopled — among paladins, 
and crusaders, and knights-templars ; with Monmouth and Percy — with Bois-Guil- 
bert and Ivanhoe, and the bold McGregor — with the cavaliers of Rupert, and the 
iron enthusiasts of Fairfax. The fluency of his speech was unbroken — no syllable 
unpronounced — not a ripple on the smooth and brilliant tide. Probably he never 
hesitated for a word in his life. His diction adapted itself, without effort, to the 
thought ; now easy and familiar, now stately and dignified, now beautiful and 
various as the hues of the rainbow, again compact, even rugged in sinewy strength, 
or lofty and grand in eloquent declamation. 

With such abihties, and surrounded by such circumstances, he progressed in 
the canvas?, making himself the equal favorite of all classes. It was less a 
canvass than a^ ovation. Old Democrats were seen, with tears running down 
their cheeks, laughing hysterically ; and some who, ever since the formation 
of parties, had voted the Democratic ticket, from coroner up to governor, threw up 
tl'.eir hats and shouted for him. — Uniteol States Law Maga'iine, May^ 1S52. 



ANECDOTES OF TilK CANVASS. 33*1 

It would require the pencil of a Will^ie, uud the pen 
of a Dickens, to do justice to the comical scenes, which 
relieved the weariness and raental toils of this canvass. 
The hero of the campaign himself thus described two or 
three in resiDondiug to a toast at the Xew England dinner 
in jSTew Orleans, after his removal to that citv, ' 



Me. Peentiss replied in his happiest style. In the course of 
his speech he told two of his electioneering reminiscences 
which "set the table in a roar." He said that some dozen 
years ago he went to Washington, thinking he was a member 
of Congress, but h« found his mistake and came home as 
fast as possible to get right. He sent printed bills, con- 
taining his appointments, several weeks ahead of him, N'ow 
there was a caravan just at this time perambulating the State, 
and the proprietor availed himself of the gathering collected by 
Mr. P.'s notices.— This, by the way, said Mr. P., was quite in the 
ordinary course of things, as an observer of political excitements 
must have remarked, that a caravan of some kind or other 
usually follows in their wake. 

The first time Mr. P. "saw the elephant" was in county, 

in the northern part of the State, near the Alabama line. It is 
one of the most beautiful counties in Mississippi, its population 
chiefly from South Carolina, and though they had voted against 
him at the previous election, he hoped their State rights notions 
would bring them into his support at this contest, when he did 
not run so much the candidate of a party as the representative 
of the State, whose dignity and sovereignty had been outraged 
in his person. At the appointed hour he found over three hun- 
dred ladies and gentlemen assembled to hear him. He was in 
"high feather" and began to speak with more than usual energy. 
The audience listened with marked attention, and he felt sure of 
bagging his game. When he had spoken about an hour he ob- 
served some of the outsiders looking over their shoulders, and 
this movement was gradually followed by more of his audience. 
He begnn to think he was growing dull, and endeavored to 

15 



338 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

rouse himself up to more animation ; but it ^va.s all in vain. He 
at length looked in the popular direction, and there, to his horror, 
just coming over the hili, Avas the elephant, dressed in his scar- 
let trappings and oriental splendor, with a houdah on his back, 
occupied by the musicians, and in the rear came a long line 
of wagons and cages. A foolish feeling of vanity, not to be 
outdone by the elephant, came over him, and he continued to 
talk, appealing to the people in the name of the State, their 
patriotism, &;c., &c., but all in vain. A few well mannered per- 
sons remained, but evidently they were retained only by their 
politeness. 

He found it was of no use. So he said : "Well, ladies and gen- 
tlemen, I am beaten ; but I have the consolation of knowing that 
it is not by my competitor. I will not knock under to any two- 
legged beast, but I yield to the elephant." To be sure, he was 
at first provoked by the preference shown to the beast above 
himself, but on reflection he was inclined to think the people 
were right. A Bengal tiger or an Indian elephant was an ani- 
mal to be seen once in a lifetime, but politicians they could see 
every day.* 

He said, however, he had his revenge a few days after. He 
found that he must come to some understanding with the cara- 
van. So he agreed with the proprietor that at Holly Springs he 
would address the people under the great awning for one hour, 
and then he would give way to the monkey and the clown. He 
hoped this would not be charged on him as " bargain and cor- 
ruption." At any rate, it was honestly carried out by both par- 
ties. Between himself and the caravan, a large assemblage was 

* But alas! for the days that we have seen, when ^'^ there were giants hi the 
earth^''^ when Prentiss could take a whole caravan, elephant and all, after him! 
Now half a dozen candidates can only scare up a single monkey. 

About that elephant, by the way, there is one anecdote which we beard substan- 
tially from one of the parties, but have never seen it in print. P.'s friend, 
A. M., resented the interference on the part of the elephant, very highly, and 
offered to be the bearer of a letter to him. " I wouldn't notice him, Andy," Atas 
Prentiss' reply, "he's no gentleman; don't you see he carries his own trtinJc.''^ 
It is well known that a compromise was afterwards effected according to which 
they divided tlie time and the pavilion; Prextiss taking the lion's share. TJtA 
Prairie Jfeics. Okolona, Miss., Oct. 20, 1S53. 



SECOND CANVASS. 339 

gathered under the immense awning. One of the cages was 
converted into a rostrum. He heard a low sound which resem- 
bled a growl, and learned that the hyena was his nearest listener. 
There were large auger holes in the top of the box, for the 
admission of air. lie commenced speaking, and wlien he 
reached the blood and thunder portion of his speed), he ran his 
cane into the cage and called forth a most horrible yell from the 
enraged animal, at the same time gesticulating violently with 
the other hand. " Why, fellow citizens," he would exclaim, 
" the very wild beasts are shocked at the political baseness and 
corruption of the times ! See how this worthy fellow just below 
me is scandalized ! Hear his yell of patriotic shame and 
indignation!" The effect was electric; he called down the 
house in a perfect tempest of enthusiasm. From tins time he 
had it all his own way. lie hurled his anathemas at his foes, 
and enforced them by the yells of his neighbor. The liyena was 
good for a hundred votes, and he thus converted a mischief into 
a profit. 

In a letter to his sister Abby, he thus aDuounees his 
return to Yieksburg : — 

ViCKSBURG, May 3, 1S38. 

My Deae Sister : — 

I returned day before yesterday from my election- 
eering tour, after an absence of nearly five weeks. Among the 
luxuries which awaited my arrival, were letters from yourself 
and Anna, for which I thank you both heartily; and in return 
will give you some little account of myself. First of all, I sup- 
pose you have become such politicians, that you will be anxious 
to learn the result of the election. "Well, then, to set your minds 
easy on that score, I have no doubt of my election and very lit- 
tle of Mr. Word's ; nearly all the State has been heard from, and 
the remaining portion cannot change the result. A most des- 
perate effort has been made by the Van Buren party to beat me, 
but without success. My majority, however, will not be large, 
about 1500, though I am foremost. Had I not gone out among 
the people, and exerted myself, I should have been beaten. I shall 



340 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

start for Wasliiogton City in about ten days or two weeks, and 
expect to get there before they adjourn. In a few days after the 
adjournment, I shall be with you; and a most delightful change 
it will be, after the bustle of politics and business in which I 
have, for the last six months, been so deeply immersed. I had a 
somewhat laborious, but othervfise pleasant trip through the 
State ; enjoyed excellent healtli, and was received with great 
enthusiasm by my political friends. However, I am heartily 
tired of the dear people, and shall leave them hereafter to man- 
age their own affairs. Who do you think is sitting by me, read- 
ing your letter ? It is S. ; tie popped in very unexpectedly to- 
day. He has been to IN ew Orleans and is on his return. His 
health is good, and I rather think he will be with you soon after 
this letter. I shall write you immediately after my arrival at 
"Washington City, and shall expect to hear from you often while 
there. Tell Anna she must not allow the doctor to prohibit her 
writing letters to me, and you must take good care of your 
health too, or it will spoil all our pleasure this summer. Good bye. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegext. 

In 11 letter, dated Yicksburg, May 11, 1838, a legal 
friend, now a leading member of the Mississippi bar, 
writes : — 

Your brother takes his departure for Washington in a few 
hours, and I cannot let him leave without convejnng to you the 
joy which I, in common with nearly every one around me, 
feel at his re-election. But I have not time to dwell a moment 
upon it. lie will see you himself soon, and can tell you more 
in an hour than I could write you in a week. There is one 
matter, however, abottt which he cannot and will not speak 
as freely as I both can and will — and that is, an address which 
he delivered last night. It was to a jury, upon the destruc- 
tion of the cotton-shed, built by the Railroad Bank on the 
Common-— on that portion of it sold by him to the Bank. He 
spoke two hours ; and I never in all my life conceived of such 



CLAIMS HIS SEAT UNDER NOVEMBER CERTIFICATE. 341 

a speech — so bitter, so sarcastic, so caustic. For the world I 
would not have been a member of the coi*poration. I never 
felt so little and humbled in my own estimation. I almost de- 
termined never to open my mouth in the presence of the same 
persons again. Oh, would that you could have heard it ! Holt 
spoke in the same cause ; but his speech was the report of a single 
cannon, while your brother's was the roar of a thousand. Indeed, 
I do not exaggerate. Friends and foes agree that it is the best 
speech they ever heard from him, or any one else, at the bar of 
justice. The jury are still considering the matter. They will, 
doubtless, bring in the full amount of damages claimed. 

The morning after reaching Washington, he presented 
himself in the House of Representatives to be sworn in. As 
Mr. Polk descended from the Speaker's desk to administer 
the usual oath, Mr. Prentiss remarked that, before taking it, 
" candor compelled him to inform the House, on behalf of 
himself and colleague, that they did not claim their seats by 
virtue of the recent election in Mississippi, but by virtue of 
the election in November last ; that they looked upon the 
recent election as unconstitutional and wholly invalid." He 
further said that " his colleague and himself could not con- 
scientiously take the oath under any other election than 
that of November, and that upon their consciences they 
should take their oaths and seats, if they took them at all, 
by virtue of that election alone. A high sense of duty both 
to himself and the House, called upon him for this avowal, 
that if any wished to make objection, they might have the 
opportunity for so doing," 

While he was making these remarks, Mr. Polk resumed 
his seat ; at their close, no objection being offered by any 
member of the House, he returned to the clerk's table, and 
handing the Bible to Mr. Prentiss and his colleague to kiss, 
forthwith swore them in. Yet the House had solemnly 
decided, only a few weeks before, that the November elec- 



342 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

tion was invalid, and, on the ground of that invalidity, had 
refused to acknowledge the identical certificates, under 
which Messrs. Prentiss and Word now obtained their seats!* 
The following letter shows that he did not place a very 
extravagant estimate upon his hard-won honors : — 

TO HIS SISTEE ANNA. 

Washington City, June 2, 1838. 

Mt Deae Sistee: — 

Here I am at last, a member of Congress, and no 
man, I imagine, ever labored as hard for the poor privilege of 
having M. C. at one end of his name, and Hon. at the other. 
The bauble seems scarcely worth the wearing, notwithstanding 
I fought so fiercely for it. I arrived here some three days since ; 
and as you have already learned, fell in with G. on the way. 
He immediately turned in to writing letters so fast, that it took 
most of my leisure to frank them, which is the reason I have 
not paid my respects to you sooner. I was very glad to see G., 
and hear from you all, and was somewhat disappointed at not 
finding letters from you awaiting my arrival, as I presumed you 
had heard of my election many days ago. I suppose S. is 
with you by this time, and I hope to be there soon myself. 
Congress will probably adjourn sometime between the first and 
middle of July. I care not how early, for I am. already tired 
of the place. Dullness seems to be its presiding deity, and 
to hold special sway over the deliberations of the honorable 
body to which I belong. I trust you and Abby will both be 
well when I get home, for I anticipate some famous times with 
you. In making your plans, don't forget a trip to the White 
Hills. I shall expect to hear from you all very often, and shall 
not fail to be a frequent correspondent myself, though if you are 
much of a politician, you will doubtless be disappointed, as I 
take very little interest in that subject. However, as I become 



* The certificate of Gov. McNutt is among Mr. P.'s papers, with the following 
endorsement: " Credentials for Congress, under April election, 1S3S (not taken on, 
or used at all). I refused to acknowledge the validity of this election, and did not 
present the credentials, but claimed under the old election of November, 1837.— 
g. S. P." 



CHARACTERISTIC IXCIDENT. 343 

more involved in my new mode of life, I may like it better. 
Good bye. 

Ever your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 

The following incident, mentioned in a letter from Mr. 
Word, is too characteristic to be omitted : 

There is one matter, to which I deem it of importance to call 
your attention. Being Mr. Peextiss' junior, and quite unknown 
till associated with hini, he had great influence over me; he 
always avoided exercising it, however, as much as possible. 
When we returned to Washington City, the pay was due us for 
fer dieni^ and our mileage for two trips; for we had both deter- 
mined to receive nothing in case the People of Mississippi con- 
firmed the vote of the House rejecting us. We acted on the 
ground that if we had no right to our seats, we were not entitled 
to pay for going on and contesting them. Soon after we reached 
Washington, in May, 1838, Mr. Peextiss suggested to me to draw 
my pay ; I did so, and received what the law allowed me ; to 
wit— mileage for both trips, about $1G00 each, and per diem for 
the time we had been in attendance upon Congress, contesting 
our seats. Shortly after this, he informed me that he should 
not take the second mileage— that we had been unjustly deprived 
of our rights and compelled to return home, when we ou<Tht to 
have been performing the duties committed to us by our con- 
stituents. He had refrained, he said, from conmiunicating to me 
his intention, lest I should think it more in accordance with 
propriety to adopt the same course, and that he had suggested 
to me to draw my pay, at the time he did, in order that I m\<rht 
act without reference to him. 

It has been stated to me, that when he drew his pay, he 
charged for the first mileage, and per diem for the whole "time 
after he first presented his credentials to the House, and that 
this was the sum he actually received. This would be less .by 
some $750 or $800, than the two mileages, and per diem during 
the time we were actually there. He told mo himself, that be 



844 MEMOIR OF S. S. PKEXTISS. 

settled his account in that way. But it has also been stated to 
me, that, by some strange inistake of the Clerk of the House, 
Mr. Peentiss is charged the larger sum, whilst I am charged the 
smaller, and that a balance appears on the books to my credit 
and none to his. This, if true (and I have no reason to doubt it 
is so), ought to be adjusted. His honored name and his high 
sense of justice ought not to be thus left. Make the proper 
inquiries, and I stand ready to have the funds passed to his 
credit, or to draw them for bis family^ to whom they most 
justly belong."^ 

After his return, he took little part in the bosiness or 
debates of the House. His principal speech was upon the 
Sub-Treasury Bill. This bill, embodying the financial 
policy of the Administration, was opposed by the Whigs 
and Conseryatives as a measure fraught with almost every 
kind and degree of political evil. It is hard at this late 
day, to credit the amount of party and even personal feel- 
ing, engendered by this scheme. Hostility to it was long a 
favorite war-cry of the Whigs. It was the great matter 
of discussion during this session of the 25th Congress, 

" Never," said Mr. Prentiss, in a speech delivered by him 
in IS'ew York a fevf weeks after the adjournment, " never 
was there fought a political battle worthier of lasting fame 
for the immense display of talent which it summoned into 
action. The Administration, with its forces well-drilled in 
all the strategy and manceuvres of partisan warfare, came 
on in solid phalanx, confident of success. Day after day 
did the contest rage in the Senatorial wing of the Capitol. 
There the great men of the nation were arrayed against 
each other. It was, indeed, a battle of the giants. There 
was Daniel of the N'orth, with his huge battle-axe, which 
none but himself could wield, and which none could resist. 



* Mr. Word was misinformed on the last point. The balance, as stated above, 
■was found on the Clerk's books, credited to Mr. P.— Ed. 



LETTERS. 345 

He struck the Aclaiinistratiou to the knee, and then, like 
Satan, it 

' First knew pain, 



And writh'tl it to and fro convolv'd.' 

Again it arose and again was smitten down by the same 
strong arm. There, too, in tlie thickest of the fight, might 
you see Harry of the West, with his double-edged sword, 
like that of Richard Coeur de Lion, hewing down all 
before him. There, too, against him, was the Saladin of 
the South, with turbaned head, and the keen-pointed. scimi- 
tar of logic in his hand ; he had lately joined the Moslem 
ranks, carrying with him the skill and s^ence of a Christian 
general. His weapon cut through obstacles, which could 
not be harmed by the ponderous axe and sword of his 
adversaries. 

After long and fierce encounters, the lance of the Admin- 
istration was wrested from them and they were driven in 
dishonor from the Capitol." 

The following letters show how completely the journey- 
ings, toil and excitement of the past nine months had worn 
him out. 

TO niS SISTEE ABBY. 

Repkesestative Hall, June 14, 1S3S. 

Dear Sister : — 

I have been so busy since I arrived here, that 1 
have hardlv had time to write at all. I will not, however, allow 
this excuse to operate any longer. I have nothing either new 
or interesting to tell yon. The weather has been, and still is, 
oppressively warm, and legislation stupidly dull. I am already 
thoroughly tired of the place. 1 made a short speech the other 
day on the pre-emption bill, as it is called, which, perhaps, I 
may write out for publication. In the course of next week, the 
great measure of the Administration, the Sub-Treasury scheme, 
will probably come up for discussion ; when it comes up, it is 

15* 



346 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

expected tluat I shall make a speech against it, and 1 shall, in 
all probability, do so. I hope for an early adjournment, but 
fear the sitting will continue until the middle of July. I am 
extremely anxious lo be with you. I shall enjoy myself very 
much, I know, tliis summer. I have been so much engaged 
since la^t fall, and have labored so hard, both physically and 
mentally, that a little rest will be a luxury to me of itself; how 
much more so when enjoyed at home with those I love so 
well. You must all be sure and be well, this summer, for I 
shall want to make some excursions into the country with 
you. Don't fail to write me often while I am here. I am 
called away and can barely say, my love to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seargext. 



TO HIS SISTER A XX A. 

House of Representatives, June 26, 133S. 

Dear Sister : — 

While a very stupid debate is going on, upon some 
matter in which I feel no sort of interest, I will take advantage 
of the buzzing dullness, and indulge in the pleasure of conversing 
with my dear friends at home. I have become so imbued with 
pohtical matters, that I can hardly talk or think of anything else. 
So I will, in the first place, give you some political information. 
The notorious Sub-Treasury scheme has at length been defeated 
by a majority of fourteen. The vote was taken on it yesterday ; 
and will, I presume, be received with much pleasure by the 
country. You will, probably, have seen by the papers that I 
made a speech against the bill. Considering the subject had 
been so much exhausted, I had no reason to complain of my suc- 
cess. I was honored with a crowded audience, who were very 
attentive and, a^^ I understand, were much gratified ; perhaps it 
arose from sympathy for so innocent and unsophisticated a youth. 
Probably they scarce expected " one of my age to speak in pub- 
lic," &c. I don't kn<nv whether I shall take the trouble to write 
out my speech. I hari "ather make ten than write one ; and as 
I am determined to quit political life, I see no reason for putting 



SPEECH OX THE SUB-TREASURY BILL. 34 1 

myself to so much trouble. We have fixed upon the 9 th of July 
for adjournment, and I am glad it will come about so soon ; for 
I am heartily tired of this place. I cannot but smile at myself, 
■when I reflect how much I have labored' to obtain that which I 
so little value. I envy G. his literary pursuits in the cool shades 
of IsTew Haven. The weather is excessively warm, and I shall 
feel like getting out of prison when I leave here. I long to be at 
leisure, for both body and mind have become fatigued by the con- 
tinued exertions I have been under the necessity of making, 
during the last six or eight months. You will find me, I am 
afraid, a very dull and lazy companion. I hope I shall not be 
troubled with too many civilities in Portland, or it will drive me 
into the country. I don't want to see anybody except our own 
old friends. My love to you all. 

Your afiectionate brother, 

S. S. P. 

It is to be regretted that his speech on the Sub-Treasury 
bill was never reported. It contained an elaborate exposi- 
tion of his views on the reciprocal benefits and inter-depend- 
ence of the agricultural and commercial interests of the 
country — upon the friendly relations which ought to exist 
between labor and capital — and also upon the importance of 
bindiuo: in closest union the Xorth and the South. On the 
last point mentioned, he expressed himself with great energy, 
and in a spirit becoming an American statesman. A member 
of Congress, writing at the time to a friend in Kentucky, 
thus refers to this speech : — 

The discussion upon the Sub-Treasnry bill is now fully under 
way, and the result is doubtful. The House has been infinitely 
amused during the last two days with the rejoinder of Mr. Pren- 
tiss, of Mis>i>sippi, to Mr, . of . The Missis- 
sippi orator has all the power and the brilliancy for which fame 
has given hira credit; in truth he is, beyond all controversy, the 
first man of his age in the country : and his annihilation of the 



348 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

fiery apostate of , will long be remembered in this 

House as one of the most signal triumphs of mind over mind. 

Just before the close of the session a bill came from the 
Senate, where it had been strongly opposed by Messrs. Web- 
ster, Clay, and Calhoun, giving the custody of the public 
money entirely into the hands of the Executive, and pro- 
hibiting the reception of notes under the denomination of 
twenty dollars, or those of any bank which issued notes of 
a denomination less than five dollars. Mr. Prentiss made 
an amusing impromptu speech against this bill, which is 
worthy of mention, from its connection with a characterestic 
motion of John Quincy Adams. Mr. P. seemed to be a 
special favorite with the aged ex-President, as indeed, he 
was with old men generally. The following is the pith 
of a contemporary notice : — 

Mr. Peextiss then took the floor, and proceeded to animad- 
vert with great severity on the introduction of the bill at this 
late hour, and upon the preconcerted movement to force it 
through the House without a moment's discussion. He declared 
it to be the last struggle of the Sub-Treasury scheme; the very 
rump of that odious measure — the last hair on its hide. That bill 
was dead and buried — this was of the same family : let it be at 
once gathered to its fathers. If it was intended to punish the 
United States Bank of Pennsylvania, this government had no 
jurisdiction in the case. If the government could punish one 
State corporation, it might another, and so no State bank, or 
State institution, was safe. As to the old dead United States 
Bank, he believed there were many around him who would 
gladly turn resurrectionists — dig up the dead body, turn this Hall 
into a dissecting-room, and never lay down the scalpel till every 
muscle, tendon, artery, vein and nerve had been laid bare, and 
neither form nor substance left. 

Amid many interruptions and calls to order, which were de- 
cided in his favor, Mr. P. proceeded with his phihppic. The great 



SPEECH ON SMALL NOTE BILL. 349 

Administration whale had been harpooned to death, and was now 
in its mortal agony; he was for backing the boats a little, and 
enjoying the flounces and plunges while it kept the whole sea in 
a foam. This bill was one of the last blows of its tail. As to 
these five dollar notes, which the government opposed so earn- 
estly on the ground of their immorality^ the people were the 
best judges whether they were good money or not ; if not, they 
would not take them, and the banks would issue no more of 
them, and so the bill was needless. If the notes were good 
money, and- the people Uted it and wanted it, the bill made war 
on the wishes of the people ; and as to the sin of the matter, they 
did not require the Administration to act as Lord Chancellor, to 
take care of their consciences. Before Mr. P. had concluded, 
a motion was made to adjourn. 

Mr. Adams inquired of the Chair whether, if the House should 
refuse to adjourn, the gentleman from Mississippi would lose his 
right to the floor? 

The Chair replied that, in strictness, he would not; by courtesy, 
however, it had been usual to allow a gentleman, in such circum- 
stances, to retain the floor. lie had no right to it under the rules. 

Mr. Adams made a point of order. 

The Chair said this was out of order, pending a motion to 
adjourn. 

The yeas and nays were taken on the question of adjournment 
and resulted as follows: Yeas 16, lISTays 142. So the House 
refused to adjourn. 

Mr. Adams now made his point of order. He said it had been 
decided by the House that this bill was to be rammed down the 
throats of the minority without any discussion, and now the gen- 
tleman from Mississippi was presuming to discuss it. He wanted 
to know if the gentleman was in order. (Laughter.) 

The Chair required Mr. Adams to reduce his question of order 
to writing. 

Mr. A. did so, and offered it in the following form : — 

" It having been determined by a majority of the members of 
this House that this bill, a highly peual bill, subjecting the citi- 
zens of the United States to fine and imprisonment, should be 
passed by the operation of the Previous Question, without debate 



350 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

01* discussion, is the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Peextiss) 
in order in obtaining the floor, and consuming the lime of the 
House, against the sense and intention of a majority of said 
members V 

It being decided that he was in order, Mr. P. went on a good 
deal too fast for us to report him. He compared the old cur- 
rency, before " the experiment," to the bread of the people ; this 
the Administration had taken away and given them a stone. 
But not content with this, they now envied them their little gin- 
ger-cakes — these poor five dollar bills. It was really cruel. He 
could not but fancy that he heard in the language of this bill the 
last growls of the old Tennessee Lion. How it would make his 
eyes flash and lighten to witness this final attack on Biddle and 
Biddle's Bank ! It would awaken the gaudia certaminis — 
and be almost equal to a glance at the field of New Orleans ! 

The Administration had tried to wield his armor : but they 
might as well take David's course and put it off, for it was too 
heavy for them. They wanted to play the part of Samson, too, 
but unfortunately they seized hold on the strong pillars of the 
State after their locks were shorn. It was vain to strive against 
the will and wants of the people. The government might as well 
attempt to enforce an assize of bread as to control the bills of 
State banks. Mr. Prextiss went on, in the most comical man- 
ner, to appeal to the comjjassion of gentlemen. He hoped, if 
they had any of the milk of human kindness in them, they would 
consider the pecuniary state of the people of Mississippi. "When 
lately travelling through the State, he had discovered that the 
silver ninepences, which used to be hung round babies' necks by 
a string, had all been cut off and used up, so that the poor infants 
could not get one of them to cut their teeth upon. (Loud laugh- 
ter.) The Administration, by this bill, were passing a tacit com- 
pliment on the deceased bank; the paper even of the dead Bank 
of the United States was better than the paper of this living 
government. The dead Percy was better than the live Falstaff. 
It was said that when great julep drinkers died, the mint was 
seen springing on their graves; it seemed so with this Bank of 
the United States ; though it had expired, its issues still contin- 
ued to supply the people with the best currency. 



NORTH AND SOUTH. 351 

Before concluding this chapter, it may be in place to saj a 
word further of Mr. Prentiss' position in reference to the 
sectional spirit and schemes, by which the country was then, 
and has been ever since, so fiercely agitated. The subse- 
quent narrative will afford ample proofs of the nationality 
and patriotic ardor of his sentiments. But it ought to be 
stated, that some of his most influential friends in Missis- 
sippi belonged to the extreme Southern party, and that 
they used strong persuasions to induce him to stand upon 
the same platform. The following extracts from a letter, 
addressed to him by a highly distinguished citizen of Missis- 
sippi, will illustrate this remark, while they also throw light 
upon that process by which the State was fast hastening to 
financial ruin. The letter is dated June 23, 1838 :— 

I wrote to you on the I7th, since which time I have had the 
pleasure of receiving your letter of the 4:th instant. "We had 
received intelligence of the stir which your arrival in the city 
had produced. Your course, both upon the taking of your seat 
and in relation to the rescinding of the degrading resolution of 
last session, is entirely approved by your friends. Such an out- 
rage should not be permitted to become a precedent. The repeal 
of the specie cii-cular, although the latter, from the scarcity' of 
money, has for some time past been nearly a dead letter, yet Avill 
remove one serious obstacle to the resumption of specie payments 
by our banks. The subject is beginning to be spoken of. Our 
solvent institutions begin to think it the only means of checking 
the wild operations of the Brandon and some new banks, which, 
without credit, are now promising to relieve the embarrassments 
of the poor people by creating money. There are some who think 
that nothing is required to effect this philanthropic object but 
slips of paper, duly engraved and signed. "With the severe lessons 
of past experience before us, the banking mania still prevails. 
There is a striking analogy between our times and those which 
existed in England about one hundred years since, when Law, 
and the proprietors of the South Sea and 2klississippi schemes, 



352 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

inoculated the country with the stock monomania. Men's 
minds are speculating, not upon the means of developing and 
unfolding the resources of the country, but of creating capital by 
trick and legerdemain. What is more unfortunate here with us, 
is that our best financiers, indeed the whole country, have their 
eyes fixed alone upon the North, and upon the retina is always 
presented a full-length figure of Mr. Biddle. At a meeting of 
Bank directors lately in New Orleans, it was formally resolved, 
that they could not think of resuming specie payments at all 
without the aid of the agency of the United States Bank. The 
great emporium of one half the continent, through which the 
North is now even supplied with meat and breadstuff's, cannot 
move without the great bottle-holder. In my opinion, there are 
no questions connected with the currency half so important to the 
South, as a direct trade with, and in consequence the establish- 
ment of a sound credit in Europe. My pride revolts at the idea 
that we who furnish the basis of nearly the whole foreign 
commerce, should be dependent on, and pay dearly for, a credit 
which our agents themselves acquire from the transaction of our 
business. These feelings, I can scarcely call them principles, now 
form the basis of my political creed, on the currency questions. 
They have led me to regard favorably the idea of an entire sepa- 
ration of the government from the money power — a full, entire, 
and eternal separation. I am not quite sure that I am right, 
yet I am willing to bear the evils of a trial. Even my distrust 
of the party now in power, has a tendency to confirm these opin- 
ions; not a little encouraged, too, by the honest prejudice which 
I feel at beholding the pride, insolence and intolerance of the 
Northern people. 

The Union Bank promises to be a great humbug. We are not 
informed that it has yet taken any decisive step, except to 
give its President a salary of $10,000, and other officers in pro- 
portion. These acts have occasioned great dissatisfaction. 

A perfect calm rests upon our State politics. Claiborne, for 
aught I know, has gone down to the tomb of the Capulets. 
Almost all the Democratic leaders are turning their attention to 
the all-absorbing study of the new science of creating capital by 



NORTH AXD SOUTH. 353 

means of ingeniously contrived pieces of paper. lu this calm, 
encouraged by the placid tranquillity of the political lake, now 
and then a Whig editor will lisp the name of Clay. Three have 
assumed boldness enough to raise the gallant fellow's flag. The 
older and more cunning are waiting further developments. In 
a short time, however, I look to see the banner raised at the 
mast-head of the Courier^ Register^ Sun, Herald^ Argus^ Acher- 
tlser^ Southerner^ and Star. Then for a war between the ISTul- 
lifiers and their old allies. "VTe cannot support Mr. Clay. His 
opinions of slavery, his views of protection, of internal im- 
provement, in short, his strong Nationalism — notwithstanding 
our admiration of the man, our confidence in his personal cha- 
racter, and our distrust of the present adminisistration — will not 
permit us to support him. In my opinion, the Nullifiers in 
this State are now the stronger portion of the opposition. 
Their withdrawal will leave the supporters of Mr. Clay in a 
small minority. Our papers, as yon know, are mostly in the 
control of 3'oung men, recent emigrants, and generally unac- 
quainted with State politics. They do not reflect its political sen- 
timents any more than the birds of passage who leave us every 
spring for the North, do its character. 

The same gentleman writes a few months earlier : — 

"We are approaching momentous times. The fanaticism and 
deep-seated hatred of one portion of the Union against us is 
increasing. It is no Sunday mail affair, to be quelled by a single 
report. Blood alone, I fear, will quench it. I am for meeting 
it on the threshold. I, therefore, approve of Mr. Calhoun's 
resolutions, and am sorry to see that Mr. Clay is, in my opinion, 
unsound upon this subject of Slavery. If the North is tired of 
us, or considers itself contaminated by a union with us, let it go. 
Could I now influence the Southern Representatives, I would 
advise them to meet and recommend to all the slaveholding States 
to declare, through their Legislatures, that they would no longer 
submit to ofiicial vituperation and insult, and hold out to tlieir 
sister States the alternative of respectful treatment or separa- 



354 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

tion. If we submit, we shall soon fall into contempt. I do not 
believe in an appeal to the good feelings of masses of men. 
They are as soulless as corporations. The only affections that 
can be touched, are interest and fear. Let the Northern poli- 
ticians calculate the value of the Union to themselves. The 
point of interest is of httle importance to us. I know not 
whether you agree entirely with me in these opinions. I hope 
you do, but whether so or not, I am sure you will ever possess 
my entire confidence. Our State Legislature has been organized 
by the ele'^tion of Whig oflScers. "Who will be Senator is a mat- 
ter of doubt. Gwin is given up in despair by the Democrats. 
Trotter is their candidate. My choice would be Judge Smith or 
Guion. New Orleans feels deeply the withdrawal of our cotton 
business, and, in revenge, is using every art to depress our cur- 
rency. She will not be able to effect this long. We will soon 
be out of debt, and then the world will come to us for our 
staple. We hear news of collisions on our northern frontier. 
A war with Great Britain would now be calamitous ; one with 
Mexico would merely amuse us." 



DINNER TO MR. WEBSTER IN FANEUIL HALL. 355 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Visits Portland— Attends the Public Dinner given to Daniel Webster in Faneuil 
Hall-Letter from Edward Everett— His Speech on the Occasion— Trip to the 
White Mountains-Invitation to a Public Dinner in New York-The Correspon- 
dence—Reminiscence by Judge Wilkinson— Returns to Mississippi by Sea— Recep- 
tion at New Orleans— Extract from a Speech at Yicksburg on Disunion-Letters. 

^T. 29—1838. 

Soon after reaching Portland, Mr. Prentiss was waited 
upon by a committee from Boston, with an urgent invitation 
to attend the Public Dinner about to be given to Mr. Web- 
ster, in Paneuil Hall. He consented to go, though much 
against his will ; for he was on the point of starting, with a 
company of friends, on an excursion to the White Moun- 
tains. 

The dinner to Mr. Webster afforded him a fine opportu- 
nity to express his admiration for that great statesman. It 
was one of the most briUiant political festivals ever known 
in this country. The occasion had called together an unusual 
number of distinguished men from all parts of Xew England, 
New York, and remoter sections of the Union. But no one 
of them was the object of such eager curiosity as S. S. 
Prentiss, of Mississippi ; for so he was generally designated. 
The wonderful reports of his oratory, the anecdotes of his 
personal history— his lameness, too, and the fact that he 
was a son of New England— all conspired to produce the 
strongest desire to see and hear him. He was himself not 
a little excited by the thought of speaking in Faneuil Hall, 



35G MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

and addressing there an audience accustomed to the elo- 
quence of Otis, Webster, Everett, and others hardly inferior 
to them in the exercise of this noble art. And not only 
was he to address an audience whose taste had been formed 
by such masters, but the masters themselves were to be pre- 
sent and sjDeak to the people. It was, certainly, an ordeal, 
which a young man, whose name but a few months before 
had scarcely crossed the borders of Mississippi, might well 
feel some embarrassment in passing through. 

The opening address was made by Gov. Everett, who pre- 
sided on the occasion. It was in the highest degree instruc- 
tive, beautiful, and impressive — teres atque roUmdus — like 
all the productions of that finished orator. Then followed 
the honored Guest, in one of those simple, compact, and 
luminous speeches, which can receive no truer or worthier 
description than to call them Websterian."^ '' His manner 
of speech," as Lord Bacon said of the king, " was indeed 
prince-like, flowing as from a fountain, and yet streaming 
and branching itself into nature's order, full of facility and 
felicity, imitating none, and inimitable by any." Or, as rare 
Ben Joiison wrote of Lord Bacon himself : *' Xo man ever 
spake more neatly, more pressly, more jveightily, or suffered 
less emptiness, less idleness in what he uttered ; no member 
of his speech but consisted of its own graces. His hearers 
could not cough, or look aside from him without loss." The 
main topic of his address at this time was the Sub- 
Treasury scheme, to whose recent defeat his own ponderous 
arguments had so largely contributed. 

Mr, Webster was followed by Gov. Ellsworth, of Con- 
necticut, Hon. Abbot Lawrence, Ex-Governor Lincoln, 
Hon. Peleg Sprague, and other distinguished speakers. 

The following account of Mr. Prentiss' address will be 

* See Webster's WorTcs, vol. i. p. 417. 



I 



SPEECH IN FANEUIL HALL. 35T 

read with peculiar pleasure. Commendation from such a 
source is indeed landari a viro laudato. 



EDWAED EYEPwETT TO THE EDITOR. 

Cambridge, Feb. 5, 1851. 

Dear Sie : — 

I have much pleasure in complying Avith the request 
contained in your letter of the 30th ult. I well recollect the 
appearance of your hrother at the dinner given to Mr. Webster, 
in Faneuil Ilall, in July, 1838. The company was much the 
largest whicli I ever saw assembled at dinner in any permanent 
building, and, with the exception of the Guest of the day, no one 
was received with so much enthusiasm as Mr. Pkextiss. Much 
was anticipated from his speech, but the public expectation was 
more than realized. He rose at rather a late hour, and after a 
succession of able speakers. For these, and some other, reasons, 
it required first rate ability to gain and fix the attention of the 
audience. I had never had the good fortune to hear your bro- 
ther, and I must own that I feared he would find himself obliged, 
after a few sentences of customary acknowledgment, to give up 
the idea of addressing the company at any length. He was, how- 
ever, from the outset completely successful. He took possession 
of the audience from the first sentence, and carried them along 
with unabated interest, I think for above an hour. It seemed to 
me the most wonderful specimen of a sententious fluency which I 
had ever witnessed. The words poured from his lips in a torrent, 
but the sentences were correctly formed, the matter grave and 
important, the train of thought distinctly pursued, the illustra- 
tions wonderfully happy, drawn from a wide range of reading, 
and aided by a brilhant imagination. That it was a carefully 
prepared speech no one could believe for a moment. It was the 
overflow of a full mind, swelling in the joyous excitement of the 
friendly reception, kindling with the glowing themes suggested 
by the occasion, and not unmoved by the genius of the place. 
Sitting by Mr. Webster, I asked him if he had ever heard any- 
thing like it ? He answered, " jSTever, except from Mr. Peextiss 
himself." 



358 MEIIOIR OF S. 8. PRENTISS, 

I rejoice to bear that you are preparing a Memoir of your bro- 
ther. I bope you will not fail to gather up the remains of bis 
eloquence, forensic, occasional, and Congressional. I am aware 
that the most skillful reporters must have failed to do bim jus- 
tice. But what be said in Faneuil Hall was so far above the com- 
mon-places of festive oratory — so full of point and meaning — 
that I am persuaded be could not have been indebted for bis 
reputation to the interes't of liis manner, great as tliat was. 
Indeed, I think it quite likel}^ that if he bad possessed less of this, 
be might have stood even higher as a public speaker. An address 
replete with wisdom, argument, tbouglit and wit, and recom- 
mended by a fascinating delivery like that of your brother, is 
sometimes supposed to owe more to the external attraction than 
the solid merit of what is said. But I do not believe your 
brother's reputation would suflPer, with good judges, by any- 
thing like a fair report of the substance of bis speeches. I am 
confident that they bad a quality of excellence that would bear 
the loss of outward manner. 

I remain, Dear Sir, with high respect, 

Yery truly yours, 

Edwaed Eveeett. 

His speech on this occasion, fortunately, is not wholly 
lost. An imperfect report of it was published, and may 
gratify the reader. Some passages are pretty severe ; 
but its sentiments on the sanctity of the elective franchise, 
on the Union, and the relations between the rich and the 
poor, will, probably, be regarded as not unworthy of any 
American statesman. 

He was introduced to the audience by the following 
toast : 

'•^ Mississipin and her Cistinrjimhed Itepreseniatlve in Congress: — We wel- 
come him most cordiallj' to this Hall, consecrated to the cause of our Country and 
Independence. He has fought a good fight, and deserves, and will receive, tho 
gratitude and admiration of his country." 



SPEECH IN FAXUEIL HALL. 



959 



Mr. Peextiss* rose, to return his most sincere and profound 
thanks for the honor which liad been done to him, and to the 
State he had the good fortune in part to represent. He hardly 
knew in what form to present what he had to say, or where to 
begin. It had been his lot, especially of late, to address his 
fellow citizens on various occasions, and under almost all possi- 
ble outward circumstances. Sometimes he had spoken to them 
under no other roof than the broad arch of the heavens ; at 
other times, canopied by the branches of the primeval forests 
of the Southwest ; at others, within the structures of the hands 
of man ; but never had he stood before an audience in such 
circumstances as now surrounded him; never before had he 
listened to the echo of his* own voice from the walls of old 
Faneuil Hall. (Clieers.) He hardly knew whether to address him- 
self to the dim and venerable shadows of the past, or the more 
real and palpable forms which met his eye. Faneuil Hall might 
justly be styled the very Mecca of Liberty. (Great cheering.) 
Aye, and the Mecca of Whiggism also. (Immense applause.) 
He came hither as a pilgrim from a far distant home, to lend 
his feeble aid in doing honor to one of the greatest champions 
of both. He felt, as he stood in that place, a holy awe upon his 
soul ; the very walls and rafters of the building seemed redolent 
of the spirit of American Liberty. The air he breathed in such 
a spot was healthful and instinct with life. He would recom- 
mend those who were troubled with political maladies, to come 
here. (Cheers.) Tins was a Bethesda in which they might 
wash and be clean from whatsoever disease they had. Yes, let 
the lame, the halt, and the bhnd, and those who were possessed 
with loco-foco devils, all come and be made whole. (Loud and 
long cheering.) He had said that he came as a pilgrim, and had 
been admitted as such, but now he was in, he should claim far 
more ; he should claim his place on that floor as himself a son 
of Massachusetts (cheers), for he had first drawn the breath of 

* This report, the only tolerable one of Mr. P.'s speech, appeared in the 
JN". Y. Journal of Commerce. Several others were published, but they are 
little better than caricatures. They, however, supply omissions in that of the 
J. ofC, and have, in some passages, been followed. 



360 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

life under the wings of the authority and institutions of the old 
Bay State. Maine, now almost a match for her foster mother, 
was then a part of this ancient commonwealth. (Great cheer- 
ing.) But he would claim his seat on yet higher grounds; he 
claimed it as a fellow citizen of this broad Union; and as such, 
it was his right and duty to render the public tribute of his 
gratitude to every illustrious, patriotic son of the Republic. 
Though he counted the distance of his home from this hallowed 
spot by thousands of long and weary miles, his heart beat in 
sympathy with all the hearts around him. (Great cheering and 
shouts of applause.) His State and theirs rested on the same 
broad platform of constitutional Freedom. (Here Mr. P. pointed 
to the sentence from Mr. Webster's last speech on the Sab- 
Treasury Bill, which was emblazoned in large letters on the 
front gallery. — " I am where I ever have l)een and ever mean to 
he : HEEE, standing on the platform of the general Constitution — 
a, ijlatform hroad enough and firm enough^ to uphold every 
interest of the whole country^ I shall still be eottxd.") The 
ilTational Banner, bearing the glorious insignia of that immortal 
possession, wrapped ahke in its sacred folds, the State of Missis- 
sippi and the State of Massachusetts. (Cheers.) 

In the palmy days of the Ancient Kepnblics, he who had 
saved the life of a citizen, was held more worthy of honor and 
reward, than he who had taken the life of an enemy. How 
great then was the honor, how boundless the rewards due to 
him, who had saved that Constitution, which had been cheaply 
purchased by thousands of lives, and would be cheaply preserved 
by the sacrifice of tens of thousands. (Long continued and loud 
applause.) 

This was no trivial occasion, no unmeaning solemnity. 
Crowns and ovations used in former days to be granted to those 
who had fought well the physical battles of their country, and 
vanquished her enemies on the bloody field ; but it had now come 
to be understood that it required a greater amount of genuine 
courage, and all those qualities which bring true renown, to 
fight successfully the civil battles of a nation, than to triumph 
on land or ocean. (Loud cheers.) From a little personal 



SPEECH INT FANEUIL HALL. 361 

experience, more especially that of a recent date, he could 
assure his fellow citizens that a more desperate enterprise could 
not well be undertaken, in times like these, than to go forth as 
a well appointed knight, and enter the lists with such foes as 
were now threatening to subjugate this free and happy land. 
He had not only to meet honorable adversaries in the foir and 
open fields of intellect and argument — that would be, in 
comparison, a light and pleasant task — but he must also be pre- 
pared, like a warrior in some enchanted castle, to encounter foes 
in every hideous and revolting shape. He found himself sur- 
rounded not merely by titled knights with nodding plumes and 
lances in rest, but by reptiles and wild beasts, by raving hyenas and 
venomous serpents — aye, and it was no mistake to say that he 
might chance to meet a "roaring lion" in his path. (Laughter 
and loud cheering.) It was, therefore, fit and right, it was but 
the discharge of a debt, to render the highest public honors to 
those who had braved these dangers, and come off safe and 
triumphant through them ail. (Cheers.) It had been the 
charge of a Spartan matron to her son, when sending him forth 
to the combat, " Return to me with your shield or on your 
shield." The Whigs in the late, contest had received such a 
charge from the maternal voice of their country; it had fol- 
lowed them through the loudest tumult of the fight, and 
though they might have failed in achieving a perfect victory, 
they had not lost their shield ; they had still held fast to the 
Constitution! (Great cheering.) It was a fearful thing that in 
a country like this, where according to the theory of the Con- 
stitution, the rulers were but the servants of the People, the People 
should stand in dread of their legislation ; yet he would appeal 
to all who heard him, whether when the last Congress had 
adjourned, they did not all feel as if an incubus had sud- 
denly been lifted from their breasts! Did not their bosoms 
swell and heave a long sigh of relief, when they had the cer- 
tainty that no new experiments were at this time to be brought 
forward, and forced upon the country? (Joyous shouts of 
response here echoed from every dart of the hall.) Was it not 
a terrible condition for a nation, when their chief consolatiou 

16 



362 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



was the inability of the Government even to do good ? "When 
their great safety lay in this, that the Legislature had adjourned ? 
In the late late Congressional contest, the "Whig minority were 
in a situation somewhat like that of the American forces on 
Bunker Hill (cheers), when the British army marched against 
them in all the proud pomp and circumstance of war — banners 
flying, a grand park of artillery, plentiful numbers, and well 
dressed and well-paid officers commanding troops perfectly 
drilled into prompt obedience. They came marching on to the 
sound of martial music, while the flames of burning villages 
lighted them on their way. Thus did the forces of the Admin- 
istration move forward upon the "Whig lines in solid column, with 
all their myrmidons drawn up in battle array, high in hopes, and 
confident of success, with a majority so devoted and so sure, 
that they dared openly to avow the sentiment that the People 
must look out for themselves. Congress was to provide only for 
the Government. It was no duty of Government to provide 
relief for the people — no such thing was in the Constitution. 
^0 ; the great Government ship, with all her officers, was able to 
weather the storm, and the little black cutter was to be filled 
with the abandoned crew, and turned adrift to sink or swim. 
!N"o sorrow, no sympathy was felt, or even afi'ected, for the con- 
dition of the country, till, in the progress of things, the distress 
reached some of themselves. Then there was a wincing and a 
shrinking, but none dared openly to complain. They did shud- 
der a little when the poor souls, whom they had turned adrift, 
were seen to go down in the tempest. Like Don Juan's wicked 
sailors. 

They grieved foi* those who perish'd with the cutter, 
And also for the biscuit-casks and butter. 

(Laughter.) Yes, they did grieve a little when the lean and 
skinny hand of Adversity knocked at their own door, and their 
pockets failed to jingle Avith the bright gold which had glittered 
so resplendently in their promises to an abused and deluded 
people. This led them to suspect that the country might 
possibly be suffering a slight temporary inconvenience ; but the 
petitions from the thousands, and the tens and hundreds of thou- 



SPEECH IX FAXUIEL HALL, 363 

sands, which were inundating the tables of the House, could not 
even then gain a hearing. Xever had they been thoroughly 
awake till the lank and hungry hounds of their own kennel began 
to howl around them for " supplies ! supplies /" '•'"more supplies — 
instant supplies P'' not for the People, but for the Government. 

Then the cry was, " the Government must stop : the Govern- 
ment must go down." "Well, sir, said ^i\ P., if this Government 
must go down, I want it should go down Admestisteation fiest 
— HEAD-FOEEMOST. (Deafening shouts and repeated cheers.) 
I do sincerely believe, that never since men have dwelt on the 
face of this green earth, and had rulers over them, was there ever 
an administration seen in any country of the globe, or in any 
age of time, more utterly callous to the sufferings or the wishes 
of the people. And I Avill say further, that I do not believe 
that in any country of the world would such a destruction 
of public propert}', without the presence of an invading 
enemy, and proceeding from the acts of the government 
alone, have been endured without a national convulsion. No 
other people on the face of the earth but the free citizens 
of this Republic, would ever have submitted to it. (Great 
and loud cheering.) Xo, sir, not in Turkey itself. Had the 
Sultan, by his despotic edict, suddenly thrown the subjects of 
his throne as far back from their previous condition, bad as-it; 
might before have been, as this country has been thrown back 
by the mad experiments on its currency, he would the next 
night have slept in the Bosphorus. (Shouts and cries of assent.) 
And why has it not been so here ? I will tell you why : the 
American people well know that they have the remedy in their 
own hands; they know that they still hold the reins of power; 
and if their steeds prove restive and dispute their pleasure, 
they know another thing, that they hold the whip as well as 
the reins. (Laughter and cheering.) 

We have had to fight a hard battle; and though, through the 
aid and blessing of Heaven, we have been able to save the citadel 
of the Constitution, rely upon it, the worst part of the contest 
yet remains. "We contend with a veteran foe : though worsted, 
they are not vanquished— they have lost a battle, but, like the 



364 



MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



squadrons of the desert, they "will sweep round and. re-appear 
with a new front, but under the old flag. Sir, is it not so ? Even 
since the adjournment, I hear they have put forth a new bulletin, 
evincing a determination still to hold on to the same policy. 

' ^Had I been consulted, I should have counselled that very course. 

' They seem to be demented. They have been steeped so long in 
wickedness, that they are under a judicial blindness. They 
remind me of the simpleton who in a great storm at sea, being 
in mortal fear, went and laslied himself to the anchor^ so that if 
the ship did go down, he at least might be safe. (Loud cheers 
and laughter.) So has this Administration tied itself fast to the 
Sub-Treasury policy ; and may the Genius of Gravitation carry 

' them so straight and so profoundly to the bottom, that not a bub- 
ble shall rise to mark the spot where they went down ! (Cries 
and echoes of "Amen," " God send it," and repeated cheers.) 
I may as well utter the honest truth ; for even a short experience 
in public life, has convinced me that plain, open speech is the 
best policy. (Cheers.) I believe that a part of the mischief 
which this Administration has eflFected, may be traced to its very 
weakness. "We have not dreaded it as we ought to have done ; 
it has been suffered to gnaw as a worm, where it should have 
been crushed as a serpent. 

One of the gentlemen who have addressed you, has been 
pleased to say that I have fought a good fight ; and recreant 
indeed should I have been, could I have turned my back in such 
a contest. The reference, I presume, was to the late struggle in 
my State ; for though thousands of miles removed, your intelli- 
gence has fully apprised you that an inroad was made on your 
own rights, and on the Constitution, by the foul and nefarious 
decision of the House of Representatives in regard to a late Mis- 
sissippi election. (Loud cheering.) 

I fear, fellow-citizens, that the great fundamental principles 
of our institutions have not enough been looked at. We glory 
in the institutions themselves, and consider them as the strong 
bulwarks of our freedom ; while we too much forget the vital 
principles upon which they rest. These broad and general prin- 
ciples are like the roots of the everlasting mountains ; they lie 



SPEECH IN FANEUIL HALL. 365 

deep — are out of sight and forgotten — but they are nevertlieless 
the pillars of the earth. We are too apt to think of them as 
abstractions — as barren generalities — not coming immediately 
home to our business and bosoms ; we cannot conceive it possi- 
ble that any man should dare to attack them ; but our security 
is our danger. They may be attacked. They have been assailed. 
One of these great principles of our freedom is the Elective 
Tranchise, and this has been attacked in the persons of the Rep- 
resentatives of Mississippi. We thought this was a thing so 
settled, that no one would dream of attempting to disturb it ; 
but we contend with a foe that knows nothing of civilized war- 
fare. (Laughter, and cheers.) They assailed this citadel of our 
Freedom ; and had the people of Mississippi submitted to it — had 
they yielded the key of this their last refuge — their liberties 
would have been gone ; nor would they have deserved any lon- 
ger to be free. But they were not thus stolid, thus base and 
craven-hearted ; they manfully resisted the assault ; they were 
true to themselves, and true to you ; for this was your question 
as much as it was theirs. (Cheers and applause.) Your rights, 
our rights, the rights of every State, and of every man, woman 
and child in every State, were all in danger ; they stood on the 
steep precipice of imminent and present destruction : but they 
were rescued. (Shouts and cheering.) Yet, when I think 
how close was the contest, how narrow the escape, I tremble 
for the future ; and I now repeat the warning so often uttered 
— the price of Liberty is unsleeping vigilance in guarding it. 
You must be like your patriot fathers. You must be the minute- 
men of the Constitution. (Immense applause.) 

Another great principle is attacked with equal desperation. It 
is the Right of Property. Tenets are advanced here, in this 
free Repubhc, w^hich would not be tolerated under the worst 
government of Europe, nay, of the world. It is openly asserted, 
that the rich are '-'• the natural enemies of the poor ! '''' and' the 
practical corollary from that position is that, therefore, the 
poor must wage perpetual war against the rich. IsTor is this an 
idle theory ; it is attempted to be made a practical question. 
It is advanced, not as in some obscure debating club, by a set 



366 MEMOIR OF S. S. PREXTISS. 

of raw and green lads, just escaped from the trammels of their 
minority, but in the lialls of Congress, and by men of experience, 
standing, and character. It would be an insult to ask you 
whether such a doctrine is to prevail among American citizens. 
And if it did, how is this imaginary line between rich and poor 
ever to be drawn ? Fix it Avhere you will, there are tens of 
thousands of the rich who would consider themselves as among 
the poor, and as many thousands of the poor who would find 
themselves among the rich. Nor could it remain fixed for a day 
or an hour ; for he who is rich to-day, to-morrow may be a beg- 
gar ; while on the other hand, thousands born to poverty, are 
continually enrolling themselves among the opulent of the land. 
I have observed, especially in the West and Southwest, that the 
most prosperous, honored and wealthy, are apt to be the men 
who commenced their course in life with no fortune but their 
hands, their industry, and their energy of spirit. The truth is, 
ail classes in this country are mutually dependent upon each 
other, as in the busy hive, where those who return laden impart 
their stores, and those who are empty, need only go forth in 
order to return laden. There is no natural hostility between the 
diflferent classes of society. Such a doctrine should be trampled 
under the foot of every American freeman — it is a viper, and 
should not be sufiered to show its head. Let us put it to death 
by common consent. (Cheering.) 

There is another precious vital interest of the Republic, which 
is assailed with no less desperate rashness — it is our Union itself. 
This is attempted to be destroyed by arraying local prejudices 
in mutual hostility— by stirring up a sectional warfare between 
the North and the South, the West and the East ; as though 
the common glory and the common interest of the whole Country 
was not more than sufiicient to outweigh a thousand times the 
local and minor matters in which we difier. But though poli- 
ticians, actuated solely by a selfish and parricidal ambition, 
seek to rend asunder what God has himself joined in everlasting 
bonds, there is a hand that will arrest the impious design : a 
hand they despise, but which they will find too strong for 
them : I mean the hard hand of mechaxical labor. (Great 



SPEECH IX FANEUIL HALU 



36t 



cheering.) Yes, sir, that mighty hand — and long may it be 
mighty in this free and equal land — that mighty hand will link 
these States together with hooks of steel. The laboring popu- 
lation of this Country mean to live together as one people, and 
who shall disannul their purpose ? See how they are conquering 
both time and space ! See the thousand steamboats that traverse 
our lakes and rivers; aye, and that, Leviathian-like, begin to 
make the ocean itself to loil liU a^pot! Look at their railroad 
cars glancing like fiery meteors from one end of the land to the 
other ; blazing Centaurs with untiring nerves, with unwasting 
strength, and who seem to go, too, on the grand temperance 
principle, laboring all day on water only. (Laughter and loud 
cheers.) Think you the American people will suffer their cars 
to stop, their railroads to be broken in twain, and their majestic 
rivers severed or changed in their courses, because politicians 
choose to draw a dividing line between a Northern and a 
Southern empire? Never, sir, never. Proceeding on those 
great national principles of Union, which have been so lumin- 
ously expounded and so nobly vindicated by your illustrious 
Guest (cheers), they will teach these politicians who is mastee. 
Let us but hang together for fifty years longer, and we may 
defy the world even to separate us. (Shouts and repeated 
cheers.) Let us but safely get through the crisis, and our Insti- 
tutions will stand on a firmer basis than ever. (Cheering.) 

And let it never be forgotten, fellow-citizens, that these Insti- 
tutions are ours in trust ; we hold them for a thousand genera- 
rations yet to emerge from the stream of time. They are sacred 
heir-looms, confided to our keeping for those who are to come 
after us— and if we allow them to be impaired or sullied, while 
passing through our hands, we are guilty of a double crime ; we 
are traitors alike to our fathers and to our posterity. 

True, we are threatened from without as well as within. 
When I left my distant home, I left not far distant from it 
thousands of warlike Indians,— congregated and armed by the 
policy of this Administration— consulting, plotting, meditating 
vengeance. They number, it is said, sixty thousand fighting men. 
You have given them rifles, and Nature has given them, in the 



368 MEMOIR OF S. S. PPwENTISS. 

vast prairies in their rear, and tens of thonsands of wild horses 
•which they well know how to break in and to ride. Their hearts 
burn* with wounded pride, and boil with meditated revenge ; and 
who knows how soon they may return on us, Mazeppa-like, to pay 
us home for all their injuries ? I know, that in stating the dangers 
of the Far West, I shall not be heard with indifference, though I 
speak in the Far East. No — we are one body ; and where one 
member suffers, all the rest suffer with it ; or one member pros- 
pers, all the rest rejoice with it ; and I hold it a high duty of 
those citizens who come from distant parts of our wide Union, 
to assure their fellow^- citizens of the perfect sympathy and una- 
nimity of feeling which pervades the entire people of this Con- 
federacy. Yes — we are one people, for weal or for woe. When 
I cannot come from Mississippi, and call the men of Boston 
my fellow-citizens, my kindred, my brethren, I desire no longer 
to be myself a citizen of the Eepublic. (Cheers, long and loud.) 
Yes — we are all embarked on one bottom : and whether we sink 
or swim, we will swim or we will sink together! (Here 
the hall rang with triumphant shouts, clapping of hands, 
and rounds of cheering ; handkerchiefs waved, and the trom- 
bones of the band pealed a note of union with the cries of the 
assembly.) 

Mr. Prentiss concluded by offering the following toast : — 
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts — Foremost among the 
States in the formation of this Republic — second to none in the 
ability, integrity, and patriotism which she has always contri- 
buted to sustain it. 

The toast was received with immense and prolonged cheering. 
The first i)art of Mr: P.'s speech was constantly interrupted by 
the most vehement bursts of applause. At length, however, the 
audience discovered tliat it was their best way to listen in 
silence, and he was permitted to go on with only occasional 
interruptions. After speaking a little while, he intimated an 
intention to stop, but was instantly assailed by loud cries from 
every part of the Hall — Go on, go on! Don't stop! As he 
drew towards a close, the interest became almost painfully 
intense. The audience were so entranced, that it seemed as if 



SPEECH IN FANEUIL HALL. 3^9 

they would have sat and listened Avithout weariness until the 
next morniDer.* 

^ Mr. Prentiss was exceedingly gratified by his reception 
in Boston. He seemed to have a home-like feelino- in 
the old Puritan Metropolis ; and it is doubtful if "any 
plaudits ever gave him more pleasure than those which 
resounded from the time-honored walls of Faneuil Hall. 
He said, the favorable judgment of such an assembly as he 
saw before him on this occasion— an assembly representing 
the highest statesmauship, the best learning, literary culture 
and social refinement, as well as the commercial enterprise 
mechanical industry, and substantial virtues of New Eng- 
land, was a test of genuine oratory, which any ma'n 
might well be proud of standing. He was, however far 
from being satisfied himself with his address in Faneuil Hall. 
He remarked, sometime afterwards, that he thought it a 
failure ; adding as a reason : " I was so awed and over- 
whelmed by the Spirit of the Place, that I could not 
speak V 

There are few other instances in our history of a youno- 
man of twenty-nine winning for himself, in less than six 
months, a national reputation as an orator and a statesman. 
The opportunity, furnished by the Mississippi Contested 



of expression tlZ^i \ utteranee, a flueDcy, and at Ihe same lime, beauly 

.he3 e tost" ,„ sw! "T" T""'- "' ^"^ """'•'"•'"'^ """"P'-O "7 
cessations her:: tTj^tl^rlTT "' '^T^'^-^ -' ^"'"^ ^" '1-e 
and his c-owdin. thou'htfwinlH H >" /"S" "^■-Ho'se impatient for the onset- 
.peech long bet°re'h Mhnnd !' r'"" ''^ '" '■'='""°'' "'l "" "«""' '-""el.- 



3Y0 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

Election, of attracting the eye of the conntry was, cer- 
tainly, very fine ; but then, only abilities of the rarest 
quality could have made such effective use of it. From 
the moment Mr. Prentiss opened his mouth in the House 
of Representatives, the public press throughout the Union 
resounded with his praise ; descriptions of his person and 
speeches, scraps of his private history, anecdotes of his 
wit and humor, formed, for several weeks, no small part 
of the correspondence from Washington, And the more 
lie was known, or written about, the greater was the 
interest everywhere felt in him. Nothing short of an actual 
inspection of the newspapers of that day, would suffice 
to give an adequate idea of the sensation caused by his 
sudden appearance in the political heavens. " Did you 
hear S. S. Prentiss, of Mississippi ?" was one of the first 
questions which everybody asked of a person returning from 
Washington. Wherever you travelled, North, South, East, 
or West ; wherever you found yourself, in parlor, or steam- 
boat saloon, in stage-coach or hotel, the chance was that you 
would catch the name of S. S. Prentiss. The desire to see 
and hear him was just as strong in Philadelphia, New York, 
and Boston, as in the backwoods of Mississippi ; and his 
eloquence seemed to have an equal charm for the most cul- 
tivated and the most illiterate — of both sexes, and of every 
age.* But of all this the reader will have ample evidence, 
as we go on. 



* One of the ways in which the general interest in him expressed itself, was a 
request for his autograph. Numerous applications of this sort reached him from 
different parts of the country, all couched in terms of admiration, and some of them 
breathing almost a personal regard. The following, from the interior of New York, 
may serve as a specimen : — " I take the liberty, though an entire stranger, of address- 
ing this note to you for the purpose of obtaining an autograph of your handwriting 
and signature. Though I shall never, perhaps, see you in person, yet I beg leave to 
enjoy the pleasure of receiving an answer to this request, which will in part make up 
for my expectation of never seeing you. I am but a boy of fourteen years of age." 



PUBLIC INVITATIONS TO HLM. 371 

His reception in Boston, as has been said, afforded bim 
much gratification. But, in general, he showed a singular 
indifference to the applauses which were heaped upon him. 
No one knew better than he the ephemeral character of 
such honors. He had, too, a natural modesty and good 
sense, which made him shrink from the notoriety incident to 
popular favor. This, also, will appear very plainly in subse- 
quent pages. 

During his present visit home, he made up a family party 
and took a trip to the White Mountains. It would be easy 
to fill a chapter with pleasant reminiscences of this excur- 
sion. He also resorted to the Great Brook, and nothing 
could exceed the boyish delight with which he sought out 
the old 'holes,' and abandoned himself to the memories of 
other days. There was an indescribable sweetness and 
honhoviie in his temper at such times. He was careful, 
also, to call upon the old neighbors, and have a talk with 
them about the past and the present. 

While at Portland, he was beset with urgent requests to 
address the people in different parts of New England. 
Invitations to public dinners also came from various quar- 
ters. Among the rest, he received one of a highly flatter- 
ing character from New York, signed by the Mayor, and 
some of the most distinguished gentlemen of the city. 

He declined all these invitations, even that of his old 
friends and fellow-townsmen of Portland. " I need not say," 
he writes in reply to the committee of the latter, "that 
your partiality has done me honor overmuch in relation to 
the humble part which it was my lot to act in sustaining the 
rights of Mississippi, as well as in the more general poUtical 
questions of the day. Without fear or favor have I 
attempted to perform my duty. I certainly claim no credit 
for pursuing the only course which was consistent with my 
notions of honor, principle, and obligations to the country. 



372 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

Your approbation of that course is exceedingly gratifying 
as an additional assurance of its propriety — and will add 
another link to the chain which binds me to my native 
place. I regret that it does not fall within the scope of the 
short and flying visit I am making to my relatives, to accept 
of honors such as you have so kindly tendered. Permit 
me, therefore, most respectfully to decline your proffered 
hospitality." ^ 

The following is the New York correspondence : — 

New York, Atigust 8, 183S. 

Hon. S. S. Peentiss, 
Deae Sie : — 

You cannot need our assurance of the gratifica- 
tion we feel in transmitting you the proceedings of " a joint com- 
mittee of Citizens, and the Whig General Committee" of our city, 
on the 7th inst. They are intended to do you honor; and as the 
tribute to your genius and fine attainments is spontaneous and 
comes from the citizens generally, we indulge the hope that you 
will not only meet your fellow-citizens in Masonic Hall, but will 
also accept their invitation to the dinner now tendered. 
"With high consideration, 

We are your very obedient servants, 

A AEON Claek, Chairman. 
James M. Pease. Secretary. 

At a meeting of Citizens and the Whig General Committee of 
the City of New York, convened in compliance with a call from 
his Honor the Mayor, on Monday, August 7th, the Chairman and 
Secretary were instructed to transmit the following resolutions 
and letter of invitation to the Hon. S. S. Peentiss : — 

„ „ ^ ^ New York, 23 J'jiZy, 1838. 

Hon. S. S. Peentiss, 
Sie : — 

Learning that it is your intention to re-visit our 
city on your return from your native Stato to Mississippi, we, on 



NEW YORK CORRESPONDENCE. 



3t3 



behalf of many of our fellow-citizens, have great pleasure in ten- 
dering you a Public Dinner, to be given you on the day of your 
arrival here, or, as soon afterwards as your convenience will 
permit. 

In proffering you this courtesy, we do so as a proof of our 
esteem for you personally, and as a token of the high regard we 
have for you as a pubhc man, inasmuch as that your advocacy 
of the rights of Mississippi has gone far to assure the sovereignty 
of each State of the Union, and furnishes a noble evidence of the 
moral power of talent, when exerted in a just cause, superadded 
to eloquence and true genius. 

"We remain. Sir, 

Your fellow-citizens, 

GuLiAiT C. Veeplakk, Aaeon Claek, 
Nathaniel "Weed, 



"Willis Hall, 
G. W. Beuex, 
Chas. H. Russell, 
R. 0. Wetmoee, 
Amos Palmee, 
d. h. robeetson, 
J. B. Rathboxe, 
Revo 0. Haxoe, 
Jxo. R. Maeshall, 
Chaeles 0. Peck, 
F. N. Tallmadge, 
"Wm. Tuexee, 
J. A. MoETox, Jun. 
JoHU" Weleot, 
Chaeles Oaexey, 

B. R. WlXTHEOP, 

Redwood Fishee, 
Chas. Wolfe, 
"Wm. K. Palmee, 

J. COLLIS, 

Andeew Olivee, 

J". F. LiPPITT, 



V. B. Waldeon, 
Gideon Lee, 
Sam'l Swaetwout, 
Moses H. Geixxell, 
Dudley Seldex, 
R. M. Blatchfoed, 
Jxo. De Wolfe, 
James M. Pease, 
Sam'l Palmee, 
Shepheed Kxapp, 
D. Geaham, Jun. 
G. S. Bobbins, 
Feed. L. Henop, 
Isaac H. Undeehill, 
Edwin Claek, 
Edwaed C. Mickle, 
W^M. R. Dixon-, 
H. Weed, 
G. D. Baldwin, 
Petee S. Towxsexd, 
James De Foeest, 
Jas. H. Beaixe, 
asher kuesheedt. 



St^ MEilOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

Resolved^ Tliat tlie Whigs of Mississippi are entitled, in an 
eminent degree, to the thanks of their brethren throughout the 
Union, for their patriotic exertions in electing to Congress the 
Hon. S. S. Prentiss and the Hon. Thomas J.Word ; notwithstand- 
ing the fraudulent attempt of the Administration party to defeat 
the result of a fair expression of the popular will. 

Resolved^ That in the opinion of this meeting, and we may 
safely say, in the opinion of the Whigs of this city and State, the 
political regeneration of Mississippi, as evinced hy the late elec- 
tions in that State, has been greatly aided by the ardent zeal, the 
able, the brilliant and untiring efforts of the Hon. S. S. Peextiss. 

JRe&olved, That the Hon. S. S. Peentiss, now at the North, 
and expected to pass through this city, on his return to Missis- 
sippi, be respectfully invited to attend a meeting of the Whigs of 
New York, and receive from them a public expression of their 
gratitude to the State of which he is a Eepresentatives in Con- 
gress, and their warm acknowledgment for his own distin- 
guished services in arousing the attention of the people of that 
State to the unconstitutional and ruinous course of the present 
National Administration. 

ME. PEENTISS' REPLY. 

New York, Atigust 13, 1838. 

Gextlemen : — 

I have just received your favor of the 23d ult. 
inviting me, on behalf of many of your fellow-citizens, to a Pub- 
lic Dinner, at such time as my convenience may permit. 

For the honor you have conferred upon me, allow me to 
render my most profound thanks. The esteem of such gen- 
tlemen as those whose names are appended to the Invitation 
which has been extended to me, is of itself ample reward 
for much higher exertions, and more effectual public seiwices, 
than anything which I have been able to accomplish. Your 
kind attention I receive as an expression of your joy at the suc- 
cessful result, in Mississippi, of her patriotic and noble defence of 
her dearest riglits against the desperate attack of a corrupt and 
wicked party. On her behalf, as well as my own, I should bo 
gratified, under other circumstances, to avail myself of your hos- 



NEW YORK CORRESPONDENCE. 375 

pitality ; but at present, being anxions to return forthwith to 
Mississippi, and being conscious that I have ah-eady received 
from my fellow-citizens more attention than I have yet had 
the opportunity of deserving, I beg leave most respectfully to 
decline the honor v/hich you have tendered me. Believe me, 
however, the remembrance of your friendly intentions will 
always awaken in my breast the most grateful emotions. 

Accept, gentlemen, my best wishes for yourselves and those 
whom you represent. 

I am, with the highest respect. 

Your obedient servant, 

S. S. Prentiss. 
To Messrs. Aaron Clark, G. C. Verplank, 
Gideon Lee, Moses H. Grinnell, F. N". 
Tallmadge, John De Wolfe, and others. 

He consented, however, to deliver an address in Masonic 
Hall. It was his first speech in the Empire City, and its 
mechanics, laborers, professional men, and merchant princes 
turned out en masse to hear him. Just eleven years had 
elapsed since he visited Xew York on his way to the 
Far West. 

Col. William L. Stone, the accomplished Editor of the 
Comvierdal Advertiser, and a warm admirer of Mr. P., thus 
noticed the meeting : — 

It was a tremendous rally. But apparently not a tithe of the 
people who attempted to get into the Hall were successful. 
We have some skill in working through a crowd, but never 
before did we come so near being defeated. Prentiss was in fine 
spirits, and the audience were delighted with him. We have 
heard him when he was more brilliant than last evening — that 
is, we have seen more bright flashes of humor, and more intense 
coruscations of wit. But he was then less argumentative and, 
in fact, less able— his speech of last evening being the efl:brt of 
a statesman, whose main design was to address himself rather 
to the understanding than to the imagination and passions of his 
audience. 



ST 6 MEMOIR OF S. rf. PRENTISS. 

la order to avoid further attentions on the part of his 
political friends, he determined to go home by sea, and 
accordingly took passage for New Orleans. 

The following reminiscence, fm-nished by Judge Wilkinson, 
will be here in place : — 

Mr. Peeis^tiss presented the moral idiosyncrasy of a man of the 
first order of intellect, who was utterly devoid of ambition or 
vanity — and who, although he highly relished a manifestation of 
mind in others, did not seem to value himself a sou for the pos- 
session of it. He even despised those who followed after him 
on account of his fame; and felt disgusted and not a little scan- 
dalized at the height to which he was so suddenly raised. I 
met him in the city of Kew York in the summer of 1838. He 
was just from "Washington, with his laurels fresh and thick upon 
him. He proposed a breakfast a la fourcliette at Delmonico's, 
and an exclusive talk. As we walked along Broadway, his arm 
in mine, a crowd of persons gathered about him and followed 
after. "Peentiss," said I to him, "this is a long and lofty 
stride you have taken. Don't you feel a little giddy at your sud- 
den elevation ?" "No," he calmly replied, "I have known for 
years what I know now — that I could accomplish what I have 
accomplished. I cared not for the opportunity, but was quite 
content to 'live and die unheard;' but opportunity came, and I 
seized it. As to having my head turned by this excess of praise, 
I am really sickened by it ; and to avoid it, intend to proceed 
from this point to Mississippi by sea." " "Were you composed 
and self-possessed, when you rose to your feet for the first time 
in Congress?" Tasked. "Entirely so — as much so as if I had 

been beginning a speech to old ," a Justice of the Peace in 

Vicksburg. " Your style is more figurative than it used to be, 
and some say you do not reason now as well as you declaim." 
" They are mistaken, I think. The truth is, the natural bent of 
my mind is to dry and pure ratiocination ; but finding early that 
mankind, from a petit jury to the highest deliberative assembly, 
1/ ai-e more influenced by illustration than by argument, I have 
cultivated my imagination in aid of my understanding." Mr. 



RECEPTION AT NEW ORLEANS. 37 T 

Prentiss never, at any other time, spoke to me so long about 
himself. He assuredly did not desire official position for his own 
sake, or for its sake. He was too proud a man willingly to sub- 
mit his claims for office to the arbitrament of the public ; and 
he looked down upon the man who was continually suing for 
popular favor, as the meanest and the most mischievous of all 
the members of society. 

The voyage was unusually long, and before the vessel 
touched port the public j^ress began to express considerable 
anxiety for his safety. He reached Xew Orleans in the 
morning, and was immediately waited on by a committee, 
tendering him the hospitalities of the city. At noon, a 
national salute of twenty-six guns was fired in honor of his 
arrival, and the whole day was spent in receiving the con- 
gratulations of the people. He declined a public dinner, 
alleging that it was not quite safe to remain another day, as 
the flattering attentions of his fellow-citizens would render 
the place hardly less fatal to him than the Circean Isles to 
the travel-worn Ulysses. The multitude, however, were so 
bent on hearing him, that he found it impossible to leave the 
city without a speech. In reply to a complimentary address 
from Judge Jackson, he spoke for an hour and a half. A 
gentleman present describes his speech as " equal in power 
and brilliancy to similar efforts, which had astonished Con- 
gress and won for him a place in the first rank of American 
orators. His popular style, now mounting to the majestic, 
now playfully descending to colloquial simplicity, was admi- 
rably adapted for carrying away the hearts and heads of 
the warmhearted denizens of the South ; yet were his 
avowed principles so pure, his patriotism so evident, that 
Minos himself might have sat in judgment on him and 
found no fault." 

In the early evening, a cavalcade of his friends, followed 



3*18 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

by an immense concourse of the people, accompanied him to 
the boat, which had been delayed several hours to take him 
on board. As the gallant steamer moved forth upon the 
broad bosom of the Father of Waters, and set her course 
towards the jS'orth Star, the excited crowd fairly rent the 
air with their deafening cheers, while a baud in attendance 
struck up the well-known strain, 

" Should auld acquaintance be forgot ?" 

These civilities were all the more grateful, as there had 
been, for ^ome time, a most unhappy state of feeling between 
New Orleans and Mississippi, interrupting, in a degree, 
even social intercourse. Ever after this, Mr. Prentiss was 
a special favorite of the Crescent City ; in no place in the 
country had he more devoted friends and admirers. 

Upon reaching Mississippi, too, as may be supposed, he 
was welcomed with open arms. The flattering attentions 
paid to him in New England, in jN'ew York, and at New 
Orleans, were carefully reported by the Whig journals of 
the State, and could not but afford his friends much grati- 
fication.* 

But he was not exempted from paying the penalty usually 
attached to such honors. During his absence, envy and 
misrepresentation had been busily at work to injure his 
political character ; the cry of Abolitionism was raised 
against him, his speech in Faneuil Hall having given espe- 

* Never in the history of our country have we seen an instance, where a man 
of his age, or of his length of service, as a public man, has received such unusual — 
such high and proud demonstrations of honor and respect, of warm greeting and 
admiration, as has Mr. Prentiss received during his present absence from Missis- 
sippi. Nowhere but in a newspaper office, where newspapers are received by the 
hundred or the bushel, can a person form a tolerable idea of the extensive respect 
and admiration which his talents co»nmand. It is far within the limits of the facts 
to say, that for the last two weeks a majority of our exchange papers contain either 
his speeches, extracts from them, or complimentary notices of his talents and the 
gigantic powers of his mind. — JSFatchez Couriei\ September 10, 1838. 



SPEECH AT TICKSBURG. 3^9 

■cial offence to certain Southern patriots. On reacliing 
Yicksburg, he was invited to a public dinner. At the close 
of his speech on the occasion, he thus impressively alludes 
to this subject : — 

It is the fashionable slang of the day to denounce the Whig 
party of the South in the most unquahfied terms, as leagued with 
the abolitionists, traitors to their own interests, enemie^s to their 
own institutions ; and other such like phrases. Southern Democ- 
racy, it seems, consists in general abuse of the rest of the Union, a 
denial of the existence of any common mterest with the Xorth, 
and a bitter denunciation of every man who has the indepen- 
dence to refuse assent to these strange dogmas. Indeed, to such 
an extent is this brotherly hatred now carried by some, that a 
man cannot exchange ordinary courtesies, or civilities, with his 
feU(5w-citizen3 of the Xortli, without rendering himself obnoxious 
to the charge of being an enemy to the South. I had occasion 
myself to travel Nortli, a few months since, on private business ; 
I was treated with great kindness and hospitality, a kindness and 
hospitality intended entirely as an expression of good feeling 
towards the State which I represented. Yet have I been most 
bitterly abused for responding to these courtesies ; for daring 
to break bread, and eat salt with our ISTorthern brethren ; and 
especially for so far violating Southern policy as to have 
wickedly visited the cradle of libertv, and most sacrile-nously 
entered Old Faneuil Hall. "^ 

I could pity tliese foohsh men, whose patriotism consists in 
hating everything beyond the limited horizon of their own nar- 
now minds ; but contempt and scorn will not allow of the more 
amiable sentiment. It is said against me, that I have Northern 
feeUngs. Well, so I have ; and Southern, and Eastern, and West- 
ern, and trust that I shall ever, as a citizen of this Republic, 
have hberality enough to embrace within the scope of my feel- 
ings both its cardinal points and its cardinal interests. I do not 
accuse those who differ with me of a desire to dissolve the Union. 
I know among them as honest and honorable men as belong to 
any party : but I do most seriously believe that the Union can- 



380 MEMOIR OF S. S. PRENTISS. 

not long survive siicli kind of argument and feeling, as tliat io 
which I have alluded. Indeed, if such sentiments are well- 
founded, it ought not to continue ; its objects and uses have 
ceased. Still I do most fervently pray that such a catastrophe 
may be averted ; at least, that my eyes may not witness a 
division of this Eepublic. Though it may be a day of rejoicing 
for the demagogue, it will prove a bitter hour for the good man 
and the patriot. Sir, there are some things belonging to this 
Union, which you cannot divide ; you cannot divide its glorious 
history, the recollections of Lexington and Bunker Hill; you 
cannot divide the bones of your Revolutionary sires ; they would 
not lie still away from the ancient battle-grounds where they 
have so long slumbered. And the portrait of the Father of his 
Country, which hangs in the Capitol, how much of it will fall to 
your share, when both that country and picture shall be dis- 
membered ? 

But, fellow-citizens, I have detained you too long upon these 
themes, and the closing day warns me to desist. The political 
relation which exists between us, and the fact that that relation 
will soon cease, constitute my apology for the tax I have laid 
upon your patience. As a private citizen, I trust ever to retain 
your confidence and regard, though as a public man, I shall never 
again seek them. Private interests, as well as inchnation, will 
keep me from the political arena. The ancient gladiator pursued 
a more enviable occupation than that of the modern politician. 
For the short remainder of the present Congress, I shall continue 
to perform my duty as your Representative, but decline being 
considered a candidate for re-election. With the most profound 
thanks for your long-continued favors to me, both in public 
and private life, I bid you farewell. 

TO niS SISTER AXXA. 

YiCKSBCEG, Sept. 80, 1S38. 

My Dear Sister: — 

I wrote to George about a week ago, informing 
you all of my safe arrival and excellent health. Though the 
passage round was extremely tedious, yet, on the whole, it is 



LETTERS. 331 

fortunate that I took this route ; for the Ohio river has been so 
low, that it has been with the utmost difficulty that our citizens 
have travelled in that direction since I got home. I have been out 
to Jackson, from whence I returned yesterday. I fiud the country 
has been remarkably healthy during the summer; more so I 
think, than at the North. My aflfairs are a good deal disordered 
from neglect, but I shall, I do not doubt, be able to bring them 
right. My friends have greeted me with great kindness, and on 
Saturday next I take a public dinner with the citizens of Vicks- 
burg. I shall return to AYashington this winter ; after which I 
am determined to retire from politics. This determination is 
warmly opposed by the Whigs, but I am resolved to carry it into 
effect. I shall return to the practice of the law, until times 
become better and my affairs settled. I am anxiously expecting 
a letter from you, and was disappointed in not finding one await- 
ing my arrival. I shall not leave for Washington until the last 
of November or first of December. Judge Guion and his family 
are well. I think of nothing further at present, but shall write 
agam soon. My love to you all. 

Your affectionate brother, 

Seaegent. 

TO HIS YOUNGEST B R O T II E E . 

Dear George :- Vicksbcrg, Nov. i, 1838. 

I have been so busy since I wrote you last, that I 
have absolutely not found time to perform my duty towards you 
as a correspondent. Besides all my old business, which has been 
accumulatmg for a year and more, I have been busily engaged 
for the last fortnight in the practice of my profession. Our 
criminal court has been in session, and no sooner was it known 
that I had resumed the practice, than ray hands were' full. 
In the last ten days I have defended five men, tried for their 
lives, and was successful in acquitting them all. Next week 
I am employed to go to Copiah county and defend a man who 
IS indicted for murder. I regret very much that I have to 
go back to Washington City this winter; but lam compelled 



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382 MEMOIPw OF S. S. PRENTISS. 



to do SO. My friends will not hear of my resigning. Indeed, 
since I announced my determination to decline a re-election, 
they have annoyed me almost to death by solicitations to 
run again, or at least to be a candidate for the Senate. They 
tell me I am the only man in the State who can run Avith 
any certainty of success. Still, though sorely tempted, I have 
declined, and do not think anything will induce me to 
change my determination. In regard to business affairs, I find 
my property in nowise diminished in value ; but shall be pes- 
tered, for about a year, by new lawsuits which they are insti- 
tuting in relation to it. I have not the slightest fear about the 
result. I shall gain the suit without difficulty. Still, it will delay 
me in my ultimate objects, inasmuch as, until its decision, the 
property will not sell to advantage. My professional prospects 
are of the brightest character. I shall have on my return in the 
spring as much business as I can attend to, and of the most 
lucrative kind. The weather is delightful and my health very 
fine. I shall not leave here until the last of the month. 

Yours aflectionatel}', S. S. P. 

Upon his return to Yicksburg, Mr. Prentiss might have 
boasted an amount of labor and locomotion during the pre- 
vious twelve or thirteen mouths, which was probably 
equalled, in the same space, by few men in the United 
States. In little more than a year he had travelled, accord- 
ing to a moderate estimate, some three thousand miles on 
horseback, eight thousand by stage, steamboat, or railroad, 
and sixteen hundred by ship — that is, in all, 12,600 miles. 
Could his mental exertions during the same period be put 
into figures, the result would be a psychological wonder. 



END OF VOL. I. 



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